No teacher or parent wants to see a child hurt in a drunk driving accident. As educators and parents know all too well, you can tell kids about the dangers of drunk driving, but that only goes so far. With new virtual reality (VR) technology, it’s now possible to give young drivers the experience of drunk driving in safe environment.

Lake Dallas High School Health Teacher and Coach John Tompkins saw this is a great opportunity to help keep students in his charge safe and show them the dangers of drunk driving. He discusses blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in his health class and believed VR would greatly add to his curriculum.

Lake Cities Education Foundation (LCEF) was pleased to provide Mr. Tompkins with the $2,221 needed to purchase Fatal Vision Goggles for use in his health class. These goggles are specifically designed to simulate the experience of being drunk.

Mr. Tompkins uses them in his health classes at Lake Dallas High School. He asks students wearing them to perform a variety of tasks, including navigating an obstacle course while driving a tricycle. Students participating in this simulation walk away with a better understanding of how alcohol impacts their reaction time and impairs their motor skills.

Crashing a tricycle into a cone makes the point about the dangers of drunk driving in a safe way. Mr. Tompkins hopes the addition of the Fatal Vision Goggles to his curriculum will prevent drunk driving incidents and fatalities as his students become drivers.

To find out more about drunk driving, how to prevent it and hear stories from victims and survivors, visit the MADD website. Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD)’s sole mission is to save lives. LCEF feels sure they’d support Mr. Tompkins’ use of VR in his curriculum.