It can be difficult to reach students with safety messages. Which is why the Wyoming Youth Interactive Traffic Safety Lab became the first-ever event for 400 Eastern Shoshoni and Northern Arapaho youths in September. Innocorp helped focus student attention by using their hands-on awareness and prevention education tools.
The event drew students from three high schools on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and was hosted by Wyoming Indian High School. This reservation presents many driving challenges: wildlife on roads, extra-long straightaways, and harsh driving conditions in winter. Innocorp joined representatives from The National Transportation Safety Board, southern California One Instant Teen Safe Driving Program, The Wyoming Department of Transportation, and Injury Prevention Resources of Wyoming to educate—and inspire—Eastern Shoshoni and Northern Arapaho students.
“Hosting the event at a tribal high school was vital,” explained Innocorp founder Michael Aguilar. “Tribal communities often face a disproportionate risk of traffic-related injuries and fatalities. Impaired and distracted driving, coupled with lower rates of seatbelt use, make these areas particularly vulnerable. The event aimed to reach a high-risk population directly within their community, making the safety message more personal and impactful.”
“The idea is to not only educate the kids attending the event but to empower them to share safe habits with their peers,” Wyoming DOT spokesperson Cody Beers told Staff Writer Austin Beck-Doss of Riverton Ranger (“Kings of the road,” 9/21/24).
Aguilar noted that events like this one can be particularly effective. “Multi-agency events pool expertise, resources, and perspectives, which enriches the educational experience,” he said. “They are often more effective because they allow for diverse approaches to traffic safety… This collaboration ensured that presenters reinforced critical aspects of driving responsibly using a variety of presentation methods.”
Students started their day by dividing into two groups. While one group watched a film that outlined consequences of distracted and reckless driving, an officer explained the necessity of safety belts and airbags to the second. The groups then switched places. After lunch, things became more hands-on for participants with half a dozen stations.
One of those stations, set up by the Wyoming Highway Patrol, was the Seatbelt Convincer. The station replicated the force of a five- to ten-mile-per-hour collision.
Innocorp’s Simulated Impaired Driving Experience (SIDNE) took to a track set up in the parking lot. SIDNE, a go-cart with delayed reaction to driving cues like breaking and accelerating, allowed students to find out what it really feels like to drive while intoxicated. The delay in braking, steering, and accelerating gives students hands-on experience while staying sober themselves. And “sober” is the key word because it can be a sobering experience to realize how little control impaired drivers really have.
“We believe that a participatory experience has a greater ability to stick in young people’s minds compared to an outdated video or adult on a soapbox,” Aguilar told Beck-Doss.
Another station allowed students to wear Innocorp’s THC-impairment simulation goggles and try to steer a wheel along a map route. Senior Dodie Harris was one of the participants.
“It felt fine at first when I didn’t have the goggles on,” she explained to Beck-Doss. “But when you put the goggles on you can’t really see anything.”
“Students were enthusiastic, and some even expressed surprise at how challenging it was to control the SIDNE cart under impaired mode,” Aguilar explained. “One student, after using the THC goggles, remarked that the effects on decision-making and reaction time were ‘worse than expected,’ reinforcing the dangers of THC-impaired driving.”
The team of safety educators from so many agencies had a high goal: to begin a long-term cultural shift toward safer driving behaviors among youth. This event emphasized the positive use of safety belts, airbags, and putting away the phone while driving, and went on to underscore the vital importance of not driving while impaired or distracted. Experience is what educators hope will make an actual difference.
“Ultimately, the goal is to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries in tribal communities,” said Aguilar. “More importantly, the goal is to have Tribal American youth be advocates for traffic safety in their communities.”
