Ford Partners With Local Schools and Law Enforcement

June 20th kicks off the first 100 days of summer which are the deadliest for teen drivers. On average, 260 teens are killed in car crashes each month during the summer. This is a 26 percent increase compared to other months of the year. While there are many factors that contribute to teen driving fatalities, driving under the influence of drugs is one of them. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 18 percent of all motor vehicle driver deaths involve drugs other than alcohol.

With legislation approaching that may legalize recreational marijuana, Ford Motor Company, Bremen High School District 228, and local police want to make sure our area teen drivers are aware of the effects and dangers of driving under the influence. Thus, the organizations set out on a mission to create a fun yet memorable day for students at Bremen, Oak Forest, Hillcrest, and Tinley Park High Schools.

Ford brought its one of a kind “Drugged Driving Suit” to District 228 schools on May 16th and 17th. The suit re-creates the reduced mobility, slowed reaction time, distorted vision, hand tremors and poor coordination that occurs when driving under the influence of drugs. To stimulate these effects, the suit is equipped with specially designed padding, ankle weights, goggles and headphones. While the suit is used for Ford’s global teen driver training program, Driving Skills for Life, District 228 schools were the first in Illinois to get to try the suit on.

Police officers from the Midlothian, Country Club Hills, Tinley Park, and Illinois State Police Departments also helped with this event by sending a representative to conduct mock sobriety tests with students who were wearing the suit. As students tried to walk in a straight line, hold their leg six inches off the ground, and follow a pen back and forth with their eyes, it became evident that they simply could not pass the standard tests.

Officers also provided students with information about what may happen if they were ever pulled over for driving under the influence, answered questions from students, and encouraged conversation.

While every student at District 228 did not have the opportunity to try on the suit due to time restraints, roughly 500 students in primarily sophomore physical education, health, and driver’s education classes experienced the suit. Classes were split into two sessions with half of the students trying on the suit and the other half checking out a brand new 2019 Mustang provided by local Joe Rizza Ford in Orland Park.

Students were encouraged to take photos with the car and sit in the front seats with impaired vision goggles. Students then had the opportunity to see the front controls and play with the dials through the eyes of an impaired driver. Many students would shockingly discover they couldn’t even find the start button.

“We were pleased to partner with Bremen School District 228 to help educate student drivers about the dangers of driving while intoxicated,” said Dan McMillan, CFO for Joe Rizza Ford in Orland Park. “We hope students will remember what it felt like to be in Ford’s Drugged Driving Suit this week and, as a result, they choose never to drive while intoxicated. That’s the ultimate goal.”

After having the opportunity to try on the suit and sit in the Mustang, students signed what was deemed as the #FordPledgeD228. When signed, students promise to never drive under the influence.

Through this partnership, roughly 500 teen drivers became educated of the dangers of driving under the influence while also creating new connections with local law enforcement. In the future, the District hopes it will be able to continue its beneficial partnerships with both Ford and law enforcement as it continuously strives to offer opportunities for current and future students.