How often do you send text messages to your friends and family every day? If you’re like us, we’re guessing it’s a lot.Īs smartphones have become prominent, so too has the act of messaging others instead of phoning them to communicate. This distracted driving simulator gave students a realistic experience of what it's like to drive distracted.Can Driving Simulators Influence Behavior Behind the Wheel? The game showed students that it's not so easy to multitask while driving. The games were then repeated, this time with distractions from station moderators-such as counting backwards from 100 or carrying a conversation. Students started by playing focus-driven games such as Perfection. This game demonstrated how distractions can hinder a person's ability to complete simple tasks, let alone drive a motor vehicle. Station moderators presented a series of distractions along the route. Riders navigated the course once while texting, then again distraction-free. This station included a maze course that students rode through on a tricycle with cones placed in a simple pattern.

To schedule or borrow The Distraction Games materials from CDOT, please contact Sam Stavish.Using videos of drivers, many of whom are distracted, students identified each example of distracted driving and compared results with the station moderator at the videos' completion. The Rangeview students were able to participate in each activity: Each unique activity displays these statistics in a fun and engaging manner for participants. The Distraction Games is comprised of four interactive stations that focus on different distracted driving statistics. In partnership with Farmers Insurance and Safe Kids Denver Metro, the Distraction Games reached 600 students during the two-day demonstration at the school. As teenage drivers acquire their licenses, CDOT has been preparing them to stay focused in the driver's seat.ĬDOT recently presented the Distraction Games-an interactive safety exhibit showcasing the dangers of distracted driving-to the students at Rangeview High School. Distracted driving continues to be a major issue on Colorado roads, responsible for over 15,000 crashes annually.

Texting and driving simulator games