Vanier Collegiate raised awareness of the dangers of drunk and distracted driving with a simulated experience on Thursday. 

Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) is a school club of 17 members that strives to encourage the public to make better choices when it comes to driving. 

"The purpose of the event is just to create an awareness and an educational purpose for the youth to understand the choices around distracted driving. So, instead of just being told, this is experiential learning," says Sharol Murdock, student achievement support worker at Vanier Collegiate and supervising teacher of SADD.

The club brought a vehicle rolling simulator to their front parking lot. It showed students what could happen to a person's body in the event of a rollover accident. 

The simulator had half of a vehicle attached to a rotating bar that spun the vehicle around. Inside the vehicle were three dummies; two of the dummies were strapped to the seats with seatbelts and there was one dummy that was not strapped in. As the vehicle rolled it showed how easily a person's body could be thrown out of the vehicle if they didn't have a seatbelt on. 

"Because you actually have a visual experience I think the learning becomes imprinted inside, not just words. It's a feeling and it's a knowing and I think that's the difference is that it's more impactful," says Murdock. 

SADD also had an intern from SGI bring drunk simulated goggles that the students could try. 
 

Teeneragers sit in a line of chairs while wearing scratched up goggles. They have controllers in their hands as they're playing Mario Kart.

The goggles were altered to give a drunken effect. The students had to wear them while trying to play Mario Kart for a simulated drunk driving experience. 

SADD wasn't able to put on many events this school year due to COVID-19 but Murdock says the club plans to have a variety of events next school year to continue to raise awareness.