BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – Students at Boardman High School got a unique lesson Wednesday on distracted driving.
They each had a chance to drive a go-kart that was modified to simulate impaired driving.
It was brought to the school by Akron Children`s Hospital through a grant from the Goodyear Foundation.
The go-kart demonstrates the impact of alcohol, marijuana, drowsiness, and distractions while driving.
Boardman was chosen as the only school for this demonstration because the township has the highest rate of teen driving accidents in Mahoning County.
“Based on the last few years, we’ve had some pedestrian injuries that have occurred due to unsafe driving. We’re just coming here into the heart of it all, basically, to make the Boardman students more aware when they’re out there driving,” said Bill McMahon, injury prevention coordinator with Akron Children’s Hospital.
Carter Lathom is a sophomore. He said he was surprised to learn of all the things that affect how you drive.
“A lot of them are surprising — different mood, how many people are in the car, just general surroundings, weather. There’s a lot of different things, and the statistics are surprising,” Lathom said.
Before the go-kart simulator came to Boardman, the students also had classes inside the classroom on distracted driving.
