Simulator to show dangers of driving drunk

The West Virginia University School of Public Health, the WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Pennsylvania D.U.I. Association will host a D.U.I. Simulator event from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday in the Blue Lot outside Milan Puskar Stadium. The event is free and open to the public.

 The D.U.I. Simulator is a virtual-reality experience of the dangers of driving while impaired. Nationwide someone is killed every 31 minutes in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes and every two minutes an injury occurs. In 2008, alcohol was a mitigating factor in 37 percent of traffic fatalities in West Virginia.

 “Research has shown that 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. We don’t want our students to become a part of that statistic,” Ruth Kershner, Ed.D., interim assistant dean for student affairs at the WVU School of Public Health, said.