Area Students Participate in Distracted Driver Crash Simulation

On Thursday, April 9, Comanche Nation Injury Prevention held a distracted drivers’ simulation for high school students at the Comanche Nation Tribal Complex.

Injury Prevention Technician William Owens said there were many partners involved.

“There was a lot of partners and sponsors involved, but what started it out, Mr. Rodney Parker, both Brian and I, my co-worker Brian Jones, he gave us a task to kind of look into the car crash simulation that happened,” he said. “Last time it was done, it was done 11 years ago.”

Owens said the department worked to gather as much information as possible.

“I took this initiative to get a hold of law enforcement. I wanted them to be part of it and basically spearhead it because that's who we're going to be calling on anyway, and that's all I thought,” he said. “When I remember being the administrator in 2015, it was when we did the last car crash simulation, and the law enforcement was very unique, and the ambulance service at that time, we didn't have a fire department, so fire really stepped it up. Kyle Tahpay, Jake Stallingsand David Stokes really…stepped up. They were kind of the unsung heroes in all this.”

Injury Prevention had around 130 students from Cache, Geronimo, Granfield and Walters.

“It's not just alcohol, it's texting, and it's basically a driver distraction. That's what it's called now,” Owens said. “It's got a big word for it, but on the shirt, it says…‘Distracted Drivers’ Simulation.’ So, you make one choice, and you make that choice to text, and it can affect a life. So, one choice, one life. You’ve got to be smart about it.”

He was worried about how the students would confront the simulation, which can be graphic.

“High school students, you know, we were talking to them yesterday, and I was talking about, you know, when you get into, especially seniors, I was one of them, you know, so we think we're on top of the world. We think we know everything and, you know, I just lost my nephew to a car accident three weeks, two weeks ago and…he was from Cache,” Owens said. “And really affected his classmates, you know, and I never, they really came together, and it just happened, this car crash simulation happened at a good time because everything's fresh. It just goes to show you that, you know, you might think you know everything, but you don't, and you want to be very careful on your choices, whether it's texting, don't worry about where that phone is, just get it from point A to point B and make sure you get there safe.”

He said it was easy to delegate and to work with other departments and entities, such as the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Department.

Injury Prevention is hoping to have another seminar before the next school year begins in August.