Arrive Alive! Tour comes to Seeley Lake, Sept. 18

SEELEY LAKE – "I realized my daughter [Laurisa] was just like everyone else, a habitual offender of texting and driving," said Jenny Ross, trauma coordinator for Community Medical Center who has told her daughter the dangers of impaired driving and distracted driving ever since she was very young. "It took her experiencing this car to open her eyes and she has never done it since. She feels this will make an impact on young drivers and that every new driver in Drivers Ed should have to experience the [Arrive Alive!] simulator."

The Arrive Alive! Tour is coming to Seeley Lake Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 2 – 7 p.m. in the Seeley Lake Community Foundation/ Mission Bible Fellowship parking lot to kick off its five event Missoula County Tour. Participants will be able to experience driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana in a controlled environment as well as see how texting while driving affects their reaction time and behavior. This event is free to participate and anyone ages 14 and older are encouraged to stop by anytime during the five hour event.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for US teens. The Safety Resource Center reported that drivers aged 16 to 19 are three times more likely to be involved in car crashes than older drivers.  

The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving causes approximately 1.6 million car crashes in the U.S. every year. That equals one in four accidents caused by distracted driving.  Ross said 65 percent of drivers admit to texting and driving which is higher than driving under the influence. Some studies indicate that distracted driving is equivalent to driving after having four beers.

"If we can help to point the spotlight on this issue, it's our hope more people will make better decisions when behind the wheel," wrote DUI Tack Force Coordinator Steve Schmidt in an email. "We also want parents to understand that 'more stuff is caught than taught.' If your children see you texting and driving or searching through your music play list for a song, they are going to do the same thing when they get behind the wheel regardless of what you tell them."

Arrive Alive! is the number one ranked texting and drunk driving simulator in the nation. Their motto is, "Good Decisions Prevent Collisions."

Participants get into a real vehicle, that remains parked and doesn't move during the simulation.   Once inside, the driver wears a virtual reality headset and the car has sensors on the pedals and steering wheel that move to the driver's reactions. Participants can choose to experience drunk driving, drugged driving or distracted driving (texting using their own phone) without the real world consequences. An external monitor allows observers to see what the participant is seeing. 

Following the simulation, Highway Patrol will issue tickets with the Arrive Alive! facilitators. Then the driver will visit with medical staff who will explain injuries incurred. Next the driver will visit with a municipal judge to explain the fines, community service or jail time required for the offense. Finally, a State Farm agent will explain how their citations and actions will affect the driver's insurance for the next three to five years.

"I feel like that as a whole will impact someone more than just getting in the simulator and testing that out or hearing me preach about it," said Ross. "I think when you get the whole picture, and if we can get the parents involved, maybe they will be more aware about how texting and driving will affect their insurance. I feel like that is going to make an impact."

Schmidt said Ross was a driving force behind getting the tour to Missoula. In July, Rosses drove six hours out of their way to Grand Rapids, Mich. so Laurisa could do the simulation.

"Laurisa is a habitual texter when driving," said Ross about her 17-year-old daughter. "I installed a 360 app on my phone and I can see when she texts and drives. On average she would text 17 times while driving. What a perfect person to take down there and try it."

After doing the simulation Laurisa was surprised by how bad of a driver she was.

"Doing the simulation she could see she slowed down to 20 mph and would veer between the lines," said Ross about Laurisa's driving while texting. "But now sitting in a controlled environment she realized she did it really bad and she didn't realize she was doing any of that. Since doing the simulation in July she has not texted and drove. I can honestly say that she hasn't because I have her on a map to follow her and she has never done it."

Ross is a registered nurse in the Emergency Room and has been with the fire department since high school. While she has never driven impaired by drugs or alcohol and refuses to use technology while driving she still felt the simulation was useful.

"It was a chance for me to try something I had never tried and yet get behind the wheel and realize just how bad it was," said Ross.

Schmidt feels the simulation is beneficial for all drivers.

"It doesn't matter what age you are, if you are driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or technology you are a danger to yourself and others on the road," wrote Schmidt. "We need parents to be a good example and to get involved in developing and creating good driving habits for young teen drivers from the start."

Schmidt wrote bringing the simulator to Seeley Lake is important because while there aren't the traffic jams, multiple lands and stoplights, the roads are narrow, curvy and there are animals, slow moving vehicles and cyclists to avoid.

"This is also about making people aware that others on the road are driving distracted and the best offense is a good defense," wrote Schmidt. "If two people are texting and driving and another had just one too many beers, let's hope they all don't meet each other at 60 miles per hour around the curves of Salmon Lake."

This is the first time the Arrive Alive! has come to Montana. Montana Department of Transportation, State Farm Insurance, Missoula Emergency Services, Inc. (MESI), Western Montana Mental Health Center, Community Medical Center, St. Patrick Hospital, Montana Addictions Center, the DUI Task Force and Buckle Up Montana teamed up and raised $10,000 for the five-day Missoula County Tour.

The Seeley Lake event kicks off the tour Wednesday. The tour will then be at the Oval on the University of Montana Campus from 12-7 p.m. Sept. 19.  On Sept. 20, the tour will be at Frenchtown High School from 2 - 8 p.m. for the Frenchtown football game. Saturday, Sept. 21, the tour will be back on the UM Campus for the Griz tailgate from 9a .m. – 3 p.m.  The Missoula County tour concludes Sunday, Sept. 22 at Community Medical Center for the Annual Safe Kids Fair, 12- 6 p.m. After the Missoula engagements Arrive Alive! will be in Kalispell and Poplar before leaving the state.

"Our hopes are that this five-day Missoula County tour will provide us the ability to secure funding to bring the tour back to Montana in order to visit even more locations," wrote Schmidt.   

For more information about the Arrive Alive! Tour visit http://ArriveAliveTour.com