SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — It's a vivid reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving: A smashed car from a severe OVI crash, brought to the front lawn of Shaker Heights High School by police.
"I've had several comments on that car," Sergeant Greg Kerr admits. "I know that it makes a difference coming from someone else [rather] than mom or dad, right? Mom or dad can tell you until you're blue in the face."
It's all part of the police department's hands-on teen driving safety fair, held Monday in partnership with UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. Students got an opportunity to use distracted driving simulators and even see the effects of impairment for themselves.
For example, one girl named Aniyah found it easy to "walk the line" in an OVI test. However, when she was asked to slip on special impairment goggles that replicate the effects of being drunk or high, she struggled to even see where she was walking. It was the same story when she got behind the wheel of a peddle cart attempting to get through the cone course.
Aniyah and others got a good laugh out of her performance, but also learned a sobering lesson — that car crashes remain the leading cause of death among teens. In addition, drivers age 16-19 are three times more likely than drivers 20 or older to be involved in a fatal crash.
Parents have an important role, too: To know teen driving laws.
"You have restrictions on how many passengers you can take, what hours you can be out driving, and obviously, no teen is readily following those," Jennifer Walker, manager of the Rainbow Injury Prevention Center, said. "We really do need parents to know about it so that they can help enforce it."
As prom and the summer season approach, it's all certainly a hands-on approach for a lasting lesson.
"Not to drive under the influence," Aniyah says, "for you and others on the road."
Another helpful tip to parents from Shaker Heights police to help teens avoid peer pressure and potentially getting in a car with a drunk driver: Pick a special word that your child can text you (that their peers don't know) that tells you they want to be picked up right away, no questions asked.