Impaired driving

Donning “fatal vision goggles,” Gaberial Janson cautiously maneuvered a golf cart around orange traffic cones Tuesday morning behind Culpeper County High School.

The 16-year-old sophomore’s blurred vision caused him to take out a few cones during the short obstacle course.

“I was going slow because I couldn’t see too well,” Janson confessed after his experience. “There’s two of everything, and it’s a little blurry and it was hard to tell where the front of the golf cart was.”

The goggles create poor vision, generating the effects of a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It was all part of an annual student-oriented demonstration by the traffic division of the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office.

During a 45-minute presentation in the gym, Master Officer Chad McKnight, a CCSO deputy and motor officer, explained the importance of wearing seat belts and warned the students about driver distractions and driving drunk.

“When you’re on a two-lane road, I’m telling you, you’re only 12 inches away from death,” McKnight warned to a captivated audience. “That’s why it’s important that you pay attention. You’ve got to not only pay attention to what you’re doing, but what that person coming at you is going to do.”

McKnight also showed several gruesome videos to the students, explaining the links between drunken driving and fatal crash statistics involving teenagers.

“The decisions that you make when picking up the cell phone and texting or doing whatever, those small things can cause a horrible outcome in your life,” cautioned McKnight.

Motor Officer Greg Butler reminded the students to remember two things while driving.

“No. 1,” he said, “slow down. Speed is the No. 1 cause of crashes among juveniles and adults. Don’t get in a hurry, because that’s when you become less observant. The other thing is to pay attention to what you’re doing.”

Cpl. Shannon Carter, resource officer at CCHS, said a $1,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Health helped the division purchase a new video camera and cones for the program.

“This equipment allows us to show the obstacle course to other classes,” Carter said.

A challenging route
After the visually impaired obstacle course, Tyler Deane, a 15-year-old sophomore, promised to never drink and drive.

“I was trying to avoid one cone, and then I hit the other one,” Deane said.

Before the exercise, Sgt. C.J. Johnson explained what the students should expect when wearing the goggles, which causes double and blurred vision.

“This is only one of the senses that would be altered if you were intoxicated,” said Johnson, holding a pair of goggles. “Your motor skills, balance and everything would be off as well.

“The idea is to get through this without hitting anything,” Johnson said. “Each one of these cones represents a pedestrian, a vehicle, a guardrail or a tree. They are things that you don’t want to run into.”

CCHS physical education teacher Greg Martz welcomed the lecture and demonstration.

“It’s great for the students to be exposed to this from someone with first-hand experience,” Martz said. “And from the law-enforcement side, they really care about the citizens and what happens. And to make that kind of connection is vital.”

After the goggle demonstration, McKnight invited the students to experience an up-close view of one of the CCSO’s unmarked vehicles.

“Can I drive it with the goggles on?” joked Cory Rinker, a 16-year-old sophomore.