Putnam County Program Draws Teen Drivers with Fatal Vision Goggles, Distract-A-Match, & SIDNE

  Reaching high school students with a safety message isn’t always easy. So once Janeen Cunningham, Executive Director of the Putnam County Youth Bureau, found that Fatal Vision products drew students to her safety programs, that was enough for her to continue integrating these (Fatal Vision) resources into her programs for fifteen years.

Why did Cunningham create a safe driving program in 2010? The utmost importance of vehicle transportation in the county drove her to it. Putnam County is a bedroom community for New York City commuters. But unlike NYC, Putnam County has no mass transit services. This makes getting a driver’s license an even bigger issue for high school students.

“Transportation is a huge issue,” Cunningham observed. “Students rely on cars to get them around.”

Since the program would be held in the summer, the first step was to target teens with a unique hook. So, the program zeroed in on senior students who wanted a coveted permit to park on their high school campuses. To get one, students have to take the two-hour course and when they pass, their name is put in a lottery to be chosen for a parking space.

To drive home the importance of their decisions around driving while distracted or impaired, Cunningham made her second step the incorporation of three Innocorp products: Fatal Vision Goggles, Distract-A-Match, and SIDNE. In fact, this program is informally known as “the SIDNE program.”

About forty students attend each two-hour session, and Cunningham usually offers four sessions each summer per high school in the county. Youth Bureau staff and community helpers—School Resource Officers, health teachers, and student interns—help deliver the message and facilitate the stations.

“We rotate the students through Distract-A-Match, SIDNE, and the Fatal Vision Goggles,” she explained. These stations give students practical knowledge they can use to make good decisions while behind the wheel. They learn how their bodies and brains react to distraction and impairment, and how important it is to keep their minds and attention on the road. The Fatal Vision Goggles, Distract-A-Match, and SIDNE are engaging, hands-on tools that are both interactive and educational. When students experience something firsthand, their eyes are opened.

For example, one student found SIDNE to be easy at first. “But once the impaired mode switches on, it’s definitely more of a challenge,” he said.

The Goggles and SIDNE experiences have a lasting impact because of their novelty and challenge, yet Cunningham is pleased that their less flashy partner, Distract-A-Match, still has a deep impact.

“We show students how distraction affects their attention with Distract-A-Match,” she said, noting that students are shocked by how poorly they do when friends draw their attention away from the game. A few are proud when they get a fifty percent score, but Cunningham asks them what that score would mean in practical terms when they’re behind the wheel. Students have to admit it’s not good enough.

“At first it was kind of easy,” another student admitted. “But once you put on the impairment goggles and you have somebody asking you questions and distracting you, it feels a lot harder.” She went on to note how things can change in a second if you glance at your phone. “It’s definitely taught me to keep my eyes on the road and not be distracted.”

“By the end of the program, even students who weren’t interested to begin with are happy they came,” Cunningham said. “We hope to reach even one student.”

But she’s reaching many more than just one. She estimates that the safety programs have reached 10,000 students in the past fifteen years. In fact, she offers a tandem program for students who don’t yet drive but are likely to be passengers in a vehicle with a student driver. These participants are taught how to be good, safe passengers. The Putnam County Youth Bureau also works with local youth courts to offer the SIDNE program to student drivers with traffic violations. Participating in the program through the youth courts can reduce associated fines and/or demerit points.

Many of her student interns have gone through the program before, something that proves the program’s success again and again.

“Being part of this program has not only given me education on driving,” said one intern. “But it’s also allowed me to educate my peers and make a lot of new connections.”

“It’s another avenue for them to think about safe driving,” concluded Cunningham.

County Executive Kevin Byrne sums it up best, “Programs like this are exactly what make Putnam County special,” said Byrne. “By engaging students in a hands-on way, we’re not only teaching safe driving skills, we’re saving lives. I applaud our Youth Bureau for their creativity and dedication in reaching hundreds of young people over the years. This is the kind of forward-thinking, community-based initiative that reflects our commitment to protecting our youth and making our roads safer for everyone.”

CLICK HERE to view a PSA Video featuring the Putnam County Youth Bureau’s SIDNE® Program.