Local students had the opportunity to take place in two different driving scenarios on Tuesday at Carbon High School. The events were made possible by the Southeastern Utah Health Department, Utah Highway Patrol and the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office.
Utah Highway Patrol provided students with a “seat belt convincer.” This convincer allowed riders to experience force that is up to five times their body weight, which is similar to a 5-7 mph crash. The purpose of the convincer is to also show how important and beneficial it is to wear seat belts.
A texting while driving obstacle course was also organized by the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office. This course allowed students to get behind the wheel of a golf cart to show how dangerous texting and driving truly is. Students were first allowed to drive the course undistracted before being given a cell phone and allowed to drive the course while distracted, demonstrating the devastation of distracted driving.
“The health department also had the students sign pledge cards to always buckle up and to never text while driving,” representatives from the health department shared. “The students also received a bag of educational pamphlets on the harm of tobacco and drugs, as well as a video, “Drive It Right,” to take home and watch with their parents.”
Over 200 students participated in the activities and were given an opportunity to share driving experiences and family stories.
“The combined efforts of the three departments is hoping to help all teens make good decisions while operating a vehicle and keeping our youth safe,” the health department shared.
The health department would like to extend special thanks to Bob Minchey, Bob Gray, Jason Cosby and Steve Salas, all of UHP, as well as Jeff Wood, Frankie Tapia and Wade Marinoni from the sheriff’s office. The health department also gave gratitude to Carbon High School, specifically Mr. Nunley and Mr Butler for allowing their students to participate, and Tom King from the Carbon Country Club for supplying the golf carts.
