Teens Will Get a Crash Course on Multitasking Behind the Wheel

It's big, yellow and has wheels, but it's not a school bus. It's the Distractology 101 mobile classroom, a simulator that one insurance company hopes will make a huge impact on Attleboro area families.

 is encouraging anyone who has recently received a driving permit or has had a license for less than three years to sit in the Distractology simulator and experience what happens when a driver is multitasking behind the wheel. Individuals will be faced with a number of different real-world scenarios.

Why? Because, nearly 5,500 people in the U.S. were killed in 2009 due to multitasking behind the wheel and nearly 20 percent of those fatal accidents involved the use of a cell phone, according to the Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation. 

It has been less than a year since Massachusetts instituted a ban on texting while driving, but that doesn't stop people from doing it anyway, according to Janet Papineau, manager of Richardson-Cuddy. "People who text while driving are 23 percent more likely to be in a crash or barely avoid one," she said. 

The driver simulation-training will be held in select communities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The training will be held Aug. 16 to 20, and is open to everyone who fits the criteria and makes an appointment to take the test, according to Papineau.

Teens who have taken the 30- to 45-minute test were shocked, Papineau said. "We got some comments from teens that said it was worthwhile and others were shocked at what could happen to them when they look down for a quick second.

Anyone who participates in the free test receives a $15 Mobil Exxon gas card, and Arbella Insurance carriers provide members a driver simulator discount of 7 percent, which comes off parts one, two, four, five and seven of the insurance plan. 

Two distractology simulators will be available behind the on North Main Street to those who register by calling 508-222-5252.