Eighth-Graders Navigate the Road Ahead with Fatal Vision Goggles

Planning ahead can make navigating a road a smoother drive. It’s true for a road trip; it’s true for transitioning into driving in high school. It’s why Tippecanoe County School Resource Officer Beth Frazier created a special Safety Field Day for eighth graders on the road to high school and a driver’s license.

Tippecanoe County in Indiana, is basically a rural county, but it encompasses a couple of tandem mid-size cities, a lot of waterways, and plenty of teenagers.

“We fall in line in national standards for teens drinking and using drugs,” explained Frazier. But she noted that other issues can supersede driving while intoxicated for area teens. “Distracted driving is an issue, as is vaping and driving too fast.”

Because this array of issues confronted high school new and soon-to-be drivers, Frazier wanted to get ahead of the challenges by catching students before high school. About five years ago, she took a “seat-belt convincer” to two middle schools. It changed Safety Field Day for her and the students. She saw how this kind of interaction made a huge impact on participants and resolved to get ahead of the game by using interactive tools like the Fatal VisionÒ Alcohol Goggles and Fatal Vision THC Kit with activities during eighth-grade Safety Field Day at six county middle schools.

The transition was organic. Frazier took the idea to the other SROs, and they all brainstormed how to make this an even more impactful learning experience. “That’s when we added the Fatal Vision Goggles and other stations to make it more engaging and interactive, but also educational and memorable,” said Frazier.

In the past five years, the program has grown. Originally, it had four stations for students to work through: 1) Fatal Vision Goggles used with pedal cars; 2) the seatbelt convincer that simulates a five-mile per hour collision; 3)  Fire Department with fire extinguisher training; 4) a DNR ATV safety station and a water response team. Since then, she’s dropped the ATV station as only a few teens were impacted, and the fire department station has morphed into an obstacle course with CPR demonstrations. Frazier added a medical station with experienced medical personnel, too, that teaches students how to “stop the bleed” by applying pressure to a wound.

“It’s the impairment station that captures students’ attention,” Frazier said. In her program, she uses four pairs of Fatal Vision® Alcohol Goggles with a cornhole activity to demonstrate how impairment affects coordination and judgment. She has also added Innocorp’s THC Goggles and activities to broaden the lesson. Student reactions often shift from surprise to realization as she explains how the Goggles simulate impairment and address common misconceptions. After experiencing the activity firsthand, students are more open to meaningful conversations about the risks of drugs and alcohol. “[The Goggles] make the lesson real and memorable.”

The Goggles, Frazier pointed out, are especially popular in the program. They draw students in at first, and open a door to change attitudes about impairment, especially once students try them out with a simple game. Students are excited about experiencing impairment—at first.

“It’s intriguing,” Frazier said, “but also shocking.” In fact, she’s made a firm rule that students can’t walk with the Goggles on because they simulate impairment so well.

Today’s Safety Field Days are offered at the end of May at six Tippecanoe County middle schools in two-hour blocks. Two schools are visited per day. Students enjoy a cookout and games after the block concludes. Frazier estimates that the program reaches 1,000 to 1,500 soon-to-be new drivers each year.

“The kids love it,” she explained.

And so do parents. One parent wrote, “What a valuable class! Thanks, Tippecanoe County SRO!”

That kind of reaction makes Frazier happy. “The technology in these Goggles is simply genius!!!!,” Frazier said. “So simple but also so effective in explaining the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or distracted or drowsy driving.”