Seminar drives students to practice safety

WARREN — A group of Warren Mott High School students are putting the brakes on distracted driving.

Throughout February and March, the students in the school’s global financial citizenship courses hosted several events to help their peers learn and practice safer driving skills. The global class is a career and technical education course, and Warren Mott is part of the Warren Consolidated Schools district.

On March 19, the CTE students took the program one step further and held a safe driving rally in the school gym. The event was designed to increase student awareness about distracted driving, impaired driving and passenger safety. The safe driving workshop is a program held annually before spring break, and prom and graduation season. About 700 students participated.

“I like teaching this unit because it allows students a chance to think creatively about an issue that is important to them,” facilitating teacher Tony Wright said. “I also like that it times up (with) when kids are making important decisions. Hopefully we can help a kid to think twice before they get behind the wheel.”

Students Labiba Ali and Tiffany Tran served as student liaisons and helped plan and organize the event. Both thought the experience was “fun” and Ali really liked working “together as a class.”

Kayla Thomas-Wright, director of Michigan’s “Strive for a Safer Drive” program, was on hand. She brought a safety driving simulator, which allowed students to see the consequences of impaired driving while distracted behind the wheel.

A number of stations were set up during the event. In one area, officer Darryl Bagiano of the Warren Police Department, who is also the school’s resource officer, initiated mock traffic stops so students could experience what happens when a driver is pulled over. At another station, a “blindfold walk” gave students the chance to observe what will happen if they take their eyes off the road while texting and driving.

The Warren Police Department also supplied “drunk goggles” that mimicked a driver who was impaired by alcohol or drugs, when sleepy or driving at night. After going through each station, the students were encouraged to sign a banner in which they promised to make safer choices when on the road.