Notre Dame Students Turn Out For Distracted Driving Lessons

Coasting down a winding, two-lane road, a student from Note Dame Academy receives an imaginary text message and tries to read it aloud.

She looks down for a beat, then back up, too late to break in time for a green truck stopped ahead.

Smash.

The accident, like the road and the two vehicles, took place in virtual reality, on a screen in front of the young driver.

Some 70 Note Dame students participated last week in 40-minute training sessions designed to teach drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. The program, created by Arbella Insurance, was sponsored in Hingham by McSweeney & Ricci Insurance Agency.

For four years, the Distractology 101 tour bus has set up in high school parking lots across the region, bringing its lessons to nearly 4,000 drivers who have been licensed less than three years or have a learner's permit.

Participants sit in one of two driving simulators inside the bus, engage in various scenarios and watch videos on distractions, which can extend beyond texting to include changing radio stations, talking with friends and "Snackcidents."

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 42 percent of students admit to texting while driving. And in 2012, AAA found that electronics were the number one cause of distraction for teen drivers and that females were twice as likely as males to use their phones while driving.

“In just three years Arbella’s Distractology 101 campaign has made enormous strides in terms of combating distracted driving,” Mary Lou Ricci, President of McSweeney & Ricci Insurance Agency, said in a statement. 

“The program’s mission is quite simple: to educate young drivers of the dangers of distracted driving and ultimately save the lives of teens. Research has indicated that this type of real life simulation and education can truly help to change dangerous behavior and we at McSweeney & Ricci Insurance are proud to support this important mission.”

Participants in the program may be eligible for a discount through their car insurance agency, Arbella agent Danny Corcoran said.

In addition to texting scenarios, students last week encountered "impossible to predict" situations laid out by Corcoran, such as when a motorcycle runs a stop sign, tricky two-way stop intersections and blind spots.

One of the most important lessons for a young driver, Corcoran said, is for them to widen their vision of the road and avoid surprises.

It certainly helps if they aren't "textgating."