by Eduardo Calderon|News Editor
This past week Johnson hosted their second annual distracted driving seminar, and unlike the Nascar Simulator of last year, the PTA held a series of booths, games, and guests during all three lunches.
“What I want students to take away from this is the need to be safe drivers,” PTA president Melinda Cox said, “Driving is a serious activity and too many people are apathetic drivers.”
Several San Antonio Police Officers were present at all three lunches, offering the chance for students to attempt walking a straight line in drunk goggles, to simulate the difficulty of distracted driving.
“We’re trying to relay that times have change, responsible drivers are not distracted when driving,” officer George Castaneda said, “Texting, putting makeup on, switching music is all [considered] distracted driving, then they try to be undetected but it can all be seen.”
Besides physical injuries, distracted driving can also bring penalties against the law.
“Someone poses a danger for an accident not just to themselves, but everyone around as well, it can result in serious bodily harm, or death,” Castaneda said, “If you’re caught it could lead to an issued citation, or jail time depending on the distracted driving.”
NEISD has promoted distracted driving awareness in their driver’s education program that is available for any north east student.
“One rule is that every student under the age of 18 can’t use any electronic device for the first year,” NEISD driving instructor Larry Lafuente said.
The distracted driving seminar attempted to teach students how to safely share the road with others.
“Students must pay attention while on the road, from cyclists to runners, they must learn to drive with pedestrians,” Cox said, “I believe the driving age is too young, it’s a huge responsibility with such a deadly weapon, they must practice safe driving.”
The most important topic stressed throughout each booth is the need to be responsible when sitting behind the wheel.
“Doing the right thing every time you get in a car is [extremely] important, students must drive defensively and aggressively,” Cox said, “If you are distracted when you are driving you will eventually end up in an accident.”
