Dobbs Ferry Students Experience Texting-and-Driving Simulator

senior John Yazzo-Scaperrotta took a break from his "drive" in the Westchester County texting-and-driving simulator and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"That's pretty hard," he said. "You have to pay attention to the gas and the break and respond to texts...it's too much to handle at once."

Scaperrotta was one of about a dozen DFHS students who participated in the simulation on Friday morning. Sitting in a mock police cruiser (inside a trailer), Yozzo-Scaperrotta and the others were tasked with following another police car on the screen while navagating highly-trafficked streets and responding to text messages.

Some crashed into pedestrians; most bumped into curbs and ran red lights. A few were involved in mock head-on collissions.

"This definitely influenced me," Yozzo-Scaperrotta said. "Not only won't I ever text and drive but I'll be telling all my friends not to as well. Nobody should go through something like this in real life."

Yozzo-Scaperrotta's response was exactly what the Westchester County Police Department and District Attorney's offices wanted.

"You have to catch drivers when they're young and make sure they understand the risks associated with distracted driving," said Det. Peter Farrell, a driving instructor for the County PD, who said that this technology has been in place since 2005. "I think by now we've visited every high school in the county."

This summer, lawmakers passed a more stringent which Farrell said has decreased the number of offenders.

"Any law that makes people more aware of the dangers of doing anything illegal behind the wheel of a car is a good thing," Farrell said. "And it's not because we like to issue more tickets; we just want to make it safer on the roads."

Assistant District Attorney Susan Brownbill-Vega was also at DFHS to promote their initiative to educate teenagers about texting and driving.

"Now, if someone is stopped for texting on the road, it's three points on their license and a fine of up to $150," she said. "Laws are important for changing behaviors—but so is education."

That's why the simulator makes its stops at high schools.

"Students are ambassadors to the community," said DFHS principal John Falino. "We want the students who took part in the simulation to spread the word about the dangers of texting and driving to their families and friends."

Did you take part in the simulation? What was it like? Will it make you think twise about picking up your phone while driving?