News & Updates
Don't drink and drive is the message
Being a safe driver is harder than it looks. Just ask Bluefield high school student Abby Stubbert. Driving the quarter-mile slalom course while being testing on her abilities behind the wheel was trying, admits the Grade 12 student.
Katrina Abou Risk, foreground, gets ready to navigate the course as Louise MacDonald, owner of Abegweit Driving School looks on. Risk was many Grade 12 students from across the Island who took part in Saturday's Safe Driving Rodeo.
Stubbert was one of 40 high school students who took part in P.E.I.'s first Safe Driving Rodeo.
The event was held Saturday at Slemon Park.
"I was the first person to go," she says with a laugh. "The course was faster than you think it will be. It's difficult, very close quarters. Backing up was quite hard."
The event, sponsored by Safe Drivers P.E.I., Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) and Confederation Bridge, was aimed at teaching youth good driving habits while bringing home the message drinking and driving don't mix.
Drivers manoeuvered through pylons at slow and fast speeds, stopping, starting and backing up.
Stubbert says the rodeo should become an annual event.
"It's a great opportunity to get all the information out there at a place that's easy access and in a fun environment for everyone."
Denver Clark, a student at Kensington intermediate senior high school, got the chance to see what it would be like to walk a straight line while intoxicated. He donned the RCMP's beer goggles, which simulate intoxication after six beers.
WHO HELPED OUT
- Atlantic Police Academy judged
- Clark's Toyota provided vehicles
- Safe Drivers P.E.I.
- Abegweit Driving School of Charlottetown
SOME SAFE DRIVING TIPS
- Be cautious of obstacles on the road
- Keep eyes on the road
- Have both hands on the wheel
- Don't use cellphone while driving
- Use rearview mirror when possible
- Always use signal lights
- Watch speed and others
Denver Clark, a Grade 12 student at Kensington intermediate, donned beer goggles, which simulates what it's like to consume six beers. He then attempted to walk a straight line.- Atlantic Police Academy judged
- Clark's Toyota provided vehicles
- Safe Drivers P.E.I.
- Abegweit Driving School of Charlottetown
SOME SAFE DRIVING TIPS
- Be cautious of obstacles on the road
- Keep eyes on the road
- Have both hands on the wheel
- Don't use cellphone while driving
- Use rearview mirror when possible
- Always use signal lights
- Watch speed and others
Clark, holding his arms out for balance, teetered from side to side before finally reaching the end of the line. Afterwards, the teen says he can't imagine how anyone could drive in that condition.
"It gives you a weird impression of the ground - like it's going to drop out and there's a hole in front of you," says Clark. "It's plain smart not to drink and drive."
Only minutes after completing the course, Transportation and Public Works Minister Gail Shea says with a laugh "I may be recommended for driving school."
With the number of alcohol-related fatalities on Island roads to date in 2006 driving home a message of zero tolerance for impaired driving is more important than ever, says Shea.
Her department has enlisted the help of Alex Poole to deliver that message.
Poole was paralyzed in a car accident several years ago.
He was driving impaired.
"He's gone out and talked to schools across the province about his experience and I'm told the students have really accepted his message," says Shea. "Education is a big part of helping people make decisions."
nmacphee@journalpioneer.com
© 2006 The Journal-Pioneer (Summerside). All rights reserved.
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Posted on: Aug 23, 2006 @ 09:54:11 AM Views: 1607