Steer Clear So We Don't Fear is a project centered around drunk driving and dedicated to keeping our roads safe for everyone. We want to limit impaired driving as much as possible by raising awareness 

The sustainable development goal of Good Health and Well-Being inspired our project. At first, we wanted to work with drugs and alcohol, but we eventually decided to cover the issue of drinking and driving because most people our age can be influenced by drinking and driving. With prom coming up, we felt that it was a necessity to remind students about the dangers of impaired driving and get people to stop their friends from doing this as well. 

          About Us!

My name is Olivia Grappo, and I am a student at Holliston High School. I am highly interested in the dangers of drunk driving and am very passionate about finding ways to stop impaired driving in our community because of the dangers behind it. 

PSA----->

Project Goals

Community partnership

Mass Army National Guard SAD program

Zoe Moreau- Holiston Drug Alcohol Coalition  

Officer Ciavara- Holliston Police Department 

Kenneth Priest- Holliston High School Campus supervisor 

Impaired Driving Simulation

What is this?

An impaired driving simulation is a new initiative designed from the ground up to assist educators and law enforcement personnel in teaching young students the likely negative impacts of impaired driving. This program consists of five separate, fully researched, and tested learning seminars that have been used by police, educational institutions, and highway safety agencies across the country. The highlight of this curriculum is our RIDE (Realistic Impaired Driving Experience) vehicle, an electric car that simulates the harmful effects of impaired driving in a safe, fun atmosphere. 

How did we accomplish this?

We worked with our campus supervisor, Kenny Priest, who connected us with the Army National Guard. The National Guard runs these simulations in schools and supplies us with "drunk goggles" and "Marijuana goggles,"  which show you how being impaired redirects your vision; they also supply two little cars and cones along with on-foot obstacles. about a month prior, someone from the National Guard came to find a good space in our school to place this. we found that the back of the field house would work best.  We worked with Officer Ciavarra from the Holliston police department to also supply us with googles and a "touch a truck" police car as well as have a table set up the day of; Officer Ciavarra also connected us with the Holliston Fire Department, and they brought a fire truck.  We worked with Zoe Moureou from the Holliston drug alcohol coalition to set the table up for her day off as well. We also worked with our principal, Mr. List, who supplied us with all four term classes. We sorted through all the classes and picked a junior-senior class for each block; we chose junior and senior classes because they were driving and going to prom, so we felt they needed to be top priorities. We then went to the teachers and asked for their permission, and Mr. List sent an opt-out form to all the parents. We also had extra spots and had people sign up. Then we gave the list of names to the office, and the office gave them an "in-school field trip" on their attendance.  We were a little bit nervous because this simulation would be held outside, so we wanted the weather to be good, so we got permission from the gym teachers to   use one of the basketball courts. 

Day of the simulation!

We got to the school at 7:00 and helped the National Guard, Zoe, and Officer Ciavarra set up for the simulation. We then brought our first class down, and someone from the National Guard would explain the simulation quickly; we then split the students into 3 groups of 10. One group would attempt the driving course, another would attend the on-foot course, and the other would visit Officer Ciavarra, Zoe, and the ambulance.  We had 30  students come down each period, and we told the lunch block teacher to give his students their first lunch so everyone working the simulation could grab lunch and resume. 

How does it help the issue of impaired driving?

This helps the issue of drunk driving because it shows the realistic point of view of impaired driving. The goggles that act as the impairment show how hard and dangerous it is to “drive” with, proving the point to not get behind the wheel when you are impaired. The high school audience was our main goal because all these new drivers should be focusing on driving a car and not operating a car while impaired.