IMPAIRED

Carter Wyttenbach echoed the thoughts of fellow Kasson-Mantorville High School students gathered Dec. 13 in the school’s north gym.
You had to try and weave a pedal cart between pylons and shoot baskets while wearing impaired driving goggles.
Good luck with that.
“It’s weird. You can’t see anything,” said Wyttenbach, a freshman. “Then you think you made the turn, and you didn’t. Cool experience.”
The event was part of the Southeast Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths program’s DWI Awareness campaign to teach students about the dangers of impaired driving.
They wore goggles simulating various levels of impairment due to alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs, such as cocaine.
Each pylon represented a pedestrian, pet, a ball being chased by a child, and such. The vehicles are known as “drunk-buster” carts.
“It gets them talking about the activity. So they’re laughing and having fun,” southeast Minnesota TZD coordinator Jessica Schleck said. “But hopefully they’re learning something from it.”
“The kids are having fun and joking around about it, but they also take away the seriousness of the dangers of being impaired, and how dangerous it is if they’re driving behind the wheel,” said Rochester-area State Patrol Sgt. Troy Christianson.
The event coordinators were assisted by K-M’s Students Against Destructive Decisions group.
SADD member Billy Buehler said the view through the goggles shows how hard it is to drive impaired – and that you can be destructive in the process. 
“I think this is very informative,” the junior student said. “It can help show students why they shouldn’t drink and drive, and also show staff members why not to drink and drive.”

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