INDIANA, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials handed some students in Indiana County a cell phone and a video game system on Thursday.
But it wasn't a giveaway for scholastic achievement. The students were expected to make use of both as part of an important lesson: texting and driving can be a deadly combination.
"I think I'm not going to be texting and driving because it's too difficult. I know it's a video game, so it doesn't matter, but it's really hard to concentrate on both things," said Leechburg High School student Angela Olshansky
PennDOT and the county held a driving simulation for teens from the area's high schools.
Students got behind the wheel of a Nintendo Wii gaming system and tried to navigate a virtual course while texting on a cell phone.
Channel 4 Action News' Jennifer Miele was there and reported the result was wreck after wreck.
Along with the texting demonstration, students also had to identify car defects, such as flat tires, and learn about what it's like to drive a transport truck, and why it's dangerous to pass large trucks on the road.
"Driving a car is one of the most dangerous things they will do in their lives, and they can't afford to be doing other things in a car, such as texting and talking on the cell phone," said PennDOT's Sean Houck.
Students were also schooled on the dangerous of drinking and driving by wearing goggles that impaired their vision.
The program is part of an effort to curb the number of crashes involving teen drivers.
Last year, there were 23,059 crashes in Pennsylvania involving 16-to 19-year-olds with 194 fatalities.
Miele reported that 10 percent of the time, investigators found the teen driver was distracted.
Copyright 2009 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
