DHS students experience how to Arrive Alive

Walter Wilson registered a blood alcohol level of 0.13 as he drove through the streets of New York City. He navigated his vehicle to his destination, but not without weaving on roads, speeding and running red lights.

His DHS classmates weren’t so lucky. Several of them crashed before reaching the end of the simulation to demonstrate how alcohol can impair driving.

Arrive Alive was on campus Thursday and Friday for DHS juniors and seniors to strap on a virtual reality headset and get a first-hand experience of what it’s like to drive drunk. Casey Troyer and Stephen Baker travel with the exhibit. Troyer said they can provide 30-40 simulations for students to show the consequences of driving while drunk, high on marijuana or using a cell phone.

Troyer is traveling throughout the South with the exhibit. Demopolis is the only site in Alabama on his schedule. Originally from Grand Rapids, Mich., he became involved in trying to reach teens about the dangers of drinking and driving after his best friend died in a car accident while driving drunk.

“If we can get to one student at each school, that’s a victory,” said Troyer. “It’s going to change your life forever, and not in a good way.”