AHS coed learns about drinking and driving

This specially modified Dodge Neon allows the driver to experience the effects of alcohol on driving without drinking a drop.

Almost 400 high school students from every congressional district traveled to Washington D.C. yesterday to meet with congressional representatives and to take a sobering drive to experience what it is like to drink and drive

Representing Brad Sherman’s 24th District and Agoura High School was 16-year-old Westlake Village resident Megan Carraway.

Megan has a direct involvement in the cause of preventing alcohol use. Family conflicts were the result of her grandfather’s alcoholism. He finally died from the effects of alcohol use. According to Megan, "Teen drinking is too prevalent in the community and I want to help educate my peers on the dangers of underage drinking."

Megan is involved in various school clubs, the YMCA Youth and Government program, and her church youth group. She is also a champion horseback rider.

As part of DaimlerChrysler’s sponsorship of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) the National Youth Summit to Prevent Underage Drinking is an historic event that brings together young people representing each congressional district across the country to help develop solutions to prevent underage drinking and impaired driving. The Neon Drunk Driving Simulator was on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Members of Congress and MADD youth delegates will experience firsthand the dangers of "driving drunk" without taking a sip of alcohol.

The specially equipped Neon can be "programmed" with the driver’s weight and a hypothetical number of drinks. As a result, steering and braking responses are delayed – producing an effect similar to the slowed mental and physical responses of a driver under the influence of alcohol. With these impairments, the driver attempts to negotiate an obstacle course – without hitting the orange pylons or the pedestrian figures that "pop up" along the way.

"MADD has forever changed the way society views drinking and driving, saving thousands of lives," said Sue Cischke, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Passenger Car Operations at DaimlerChrysler. "We’re proud to salute MADD and the youth delegates who are making a dramatic statement to the nation about the importance of personal responsibility and making the right choice. The Simulator plays a key role in educating young people about the dangerous consequences of underage drinking and impaired driving."

For more information on the MADD National Youth Summit, visit www.madd.org\nys.