WYOMING, Mich. -- General Motors has donated to the Wyoming Department of Public Safety a driving simulator that the police will use to educate young drivers about the dangers of distracted and impaired driving.
The Wyoming Police Department says it will use the driving simulator during school and community events, such as National Night Out, Metro Cruise, Concerts in the Park, and Police in the Parks. It says in a news release that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that approximately 3,000 people die each year in crashes involving distracted drivers and approximately 11,000 people die each year in alcohol-impaired driving crashes.
Among distracted driving crashes, a higher percentage of drivers between the ages of 15-20 were distracted than those drivers over the age of 21, Wyoming Police say. A survey conducted by the CDC found that 4 in 10 high school drivers reported that they had texted and/or emailed while driving at least once in the previous 30 days. Another CDC study showed that 5% of high school students surveyed reported that they drove after drinking alcohol within the previous 30 days.
The media will get a first-hand demonstration of the simulator on Tuesday afternoon at the General Motors Grand Rapids Operations facility on Burlingame Avenue.
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