When Cheyenne Hensley was one of numerous Montgomery County High School students who participated in an Arrive Alive Tour event on April 7 at MCHS, she found out how serious drunk and distracted driving can be.

The Montgomery County senior operated a simulator that allowed her to drive while being distracted, drunk or drugged in a fully functioning vehicle. Driving on a road with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour, she started speeding up to 100 miles per hour and crashed into a wall. She received a citation.

Still, Hensley enjoyed the experience.

“It was fun,” Hensley said. “I kept laughing the whole time.”

The Arrive Alive Tour teamed up with the Montgomery County Health Department to educate the students at MCHS and Wellsville-Middletown High School on the dangers of impaired and distracted driving. After its six-hour visit to MCHS on April 7, the Arrive Alive Tour went to W-M the following day.

“Montgomery County Health Department receives grant funding through the Maternal Child Health Services Grant to address certain health issues affecting children and/or women of child bearing age,” MCHD administrator Laura Yelton said. “MCHD has selected the priority health issue that focuses on preventing and reducing intentional injuries related to substance use and self-harming behaviors in adolescents. We are excited to use part of our funding to provide a hands-on educational experience for the high school students in our county to hopefully make an impact on their choices regarding distracted driving.”

The Arrive Alive Tour is the nation’s top-ranked drunk and distracted driving awareness event as well as the first-and-only marijuana driving simulator in the country. The simulator allows participants to experience the real-life dangers of drunk and distracted driving.

“We try to simulate what it’s like being drunk in the car,” said Cameron Dodgson, an Arrive Alive Tour representative who visited both MCHS and W-M. “We delay the controls and we blur the vision. We try to give them as realistic of an experience as we can.”

Dodgson said the students from both schools had fun learning about the consequences of drunk and distracted driving.

“It was pretty good,” he said. “It went pretty smoothly. Everyone had a good time. They feel like they got the message pretty well that being behind the wheel of any vehicle under the influence of drugs and alcohol is not a safe option.”

Dodgson said getting a perfect score was a challenging task for the students.

“Some people made it to the end, but they were going quite a bit under the speed limit,” he said. “It’s a little easier if you’re going 20 (miles per hour) rather than 45.”

W-M senior Emma Scott said the event was a real eye-opening experience for her.

“It’s a learning process not to text and drive because that impacts yourself and others,” Scott said.

The Arrive Alive Tour works with not only high schools, but also colleges, communities, corporations, U.S. military bases, government agencies and highway safety offices. It is based in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“Honestly, we appreciate them bringing us out here,” Dodgson said. “We thank them for the opportunity to give their kids first hand experience on the dangers. We hope they bring us back in the future.”