Arrive Alive Tour Drives Students to Create Life-long Safe Driving Habits

On Wednesday, August 27, MICDS hosted the Arrive Alive driving simulator for the third time on its campus. According to their press release, the Arrive Alive Tour, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), “is the nation’s number-one ranked drunk and distracted driving awareness event, as well as the first and only marijuana driving simulator in the country. The Arrive Alive Tour uses a high-tech, state-of-the-art simulator that allows participants to drive while distracted, drunk, or drugged in a fully functioning vehicle without moving or being intoxicated. The simulator allows participants to experience the real-life dangers without the real-life consequences.”

Did you know that 955 Missourians lost their lives due to traffic-related incidents in 2024? Of those, 133 were teen drivers. Also, did you know that driver distraction is responsible for more than 58% of teen crashes? MoDOT has enacted its “Show Me Zero campaign,” which has the goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2030. To help achieve this goal, Arrive Alive and its simulator educate teen drivers on the dangers of impaired and distracted driving in hopes of teens creating safe driving habits that last a lifetime.

Our Upper School students on Wednesday climbed into the Arrive Alive vehicle and put on a virtual reality headset. Although the car battery was disabled and the car was immobilized, sensors connected to the car’s gas and brake pedals and steering wheel enabled the participant to experience what it’s like to drive under the influence without the real-life consequences. Onlookers watched an external LED monitor near the vehicle, showing what the driver was experiencing in real-time. Upon exiting the vehicle, each participant was handed a mock citation from a facilitator detailing the ramifications of their simulation. Students also completed an event survey to gauge their knowledge and experience of drinking while driving before and after they used the simulator.

What was the experience like, and what did our students learn? Check out some of their reflections below!

“I did the drunk driving simulation, and because of this, my reaction time was bad, so I ran into a pole early on in the drive,” shared Maria Wansong ’28. “Before the simulator, I did not know that one’s reaction time was impacted by being drunk.”
“The driving simulator was very interesting,” said Parker Cabbabe ’29. “I have never driven a car before, so I was intrigued to try. I chose the drunk driving scenario, and it didn’t end well. Overall, I thought that it was a fun, interactive way to learn and experience what it is like to be drunk and drive.”
Kennedy Newman ’29 did the texting and driving simulation. “I made it to the finish line, but I sped, swerved, and failed to stop,” she noted. “Every time I looked up from the phone, I was on the other side of the road. I definitely will avoid texting while driving.”

Upon the event’s conclusion, Arrive Alive reported that 170 students had the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat of the simulator. Over 100 of them completed a participant survey where a remarkable 96.2% of participants pledged to never drive distracted, to think twice before doing so, and to warn others of the dangers of these behaviors. Also, 83.8% of the participants surveyed think that texting and distracted driving is more dangerous or about the same as drunk driving.

Thank you, Arrive Alive, for driving home such important lessons for our students, which can help everyone be safer on the road!