Westlake High Students Learn Mistakes Have High Price

High principal Tim Freeman calls the 100 days before graduation "the most dangerous" in a high school senior's life.

There are so many things going on, he said. Between prom, spending last high school days with friends, parties, other celebrations and events, there are a lot of distractions.

"There are a lot of chances to make good decisions or bad decisions," he said.

And, as one sign at the high school said, you don't get a make-up exam for some mistakes. 

One of those decisions is driving behavior, and the school covered that on Wednesday.

First, there was a distracted driving demonstration in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center at the school, where students could watch videos, read about distracted driving, and try a simulation to see just how distractions can cause problems.

Students gathered around the simulation like it was an arcade game, watching their friends try to "drive" while managing texting and other distractions. Inevitably, the simulation ended in a crash or getting pulled over by the police.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009, nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 were injured in crashes caused by distracted driving.

That's not a game.

Later in the day, Westlake police and the local Students Against Drunk Driving chapter staged a mock car crash on the football field, complete with LifeFlight helicopter.

"Any way we can get the message out is important," Freeman said.

Sophomore Mark Matzinger said that it was hard to remain composed and see everything in the distracted driving simulation.

"There was too much to keep track of," he said.

It was a reinforcement of his mom's concerns about distracted driving, Matzinger said.

"Sometimes she calls me, and gets mad when she finds out I picked up (the call) while driving," he said.

Several of the teens at the simulation said their parents have rules about driving and phone use or texting.