RUMFORD — More than 90 students at Mountain Valley High School learned the consequences of distracted driving Wednesday during computer driving simulations.

Sessions involved texting and driving, impaired driving, the consequences of getting caught, charged and convicted, and how operating under the influence can ruin future job opportunities.

They were taught by Johannah Oberg, a highway safety coordinator with the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, Robert Annese, the bureau’s law enforcement liaison, and Rumford police Sgt. Tracey Higley.

The sessions were part of the high school’s Keeping Students Safe Program, which will feature a different session every Wednesday until Memorial Day.

One texting and driving simulation had Principal Matt Gilbert behind the wheel, trying to text “HELLO” on a dash-mounted cellphone while driving.

It is one of 600 programs in the One Simple Decision curriculum software being used in two portable driving simulators purchased by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety through a grant from Ford Motor Co., Oberg said.

“It allows students to get behind the wheel of a simulation and make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, because this software has consequences — whether it be losing your license, killing somebody, injuring yourself or not getting a job down the road,” Oberg said.

The program is aimed at teens with new driving permits and those who have yet to get theirs.

“We like to see the freshmen and sophomores go through it, because you’re still able to affect their behaviors,” she said.

While Gilbert maneuvered through the program, his actions were projected on the big screen atop the stage for students to watch as he attempted to text and drive.

He managed to type “HELI” while staying on the road despite several near misses, stopped and turned left going the wrong way up a freeway off-ramp.

“I’ve never seen anyone go on the off-ramp like that before,” she said. “I saw him put the left blinker on and I thought, ‘Maybe he’s going to go right.’”

Afterward, Gilbert shared what he learned about distracted driving, and had a student try the impaired driving simulation program.

The impaired driving simulation ends with a sobriety checkpoint that shows what it’s like to go through a field sobriety test, get arrested and taken to jail. The program asks questions of the audience such as “How long does an OUI stay on your record?”

The answer, Oberg said, is 10-plus years. The software takes the student through a job interview in which a records check by the employer reveals the OUI conviction and the person loses the job.

While the student maneuvered through the impaired driving simulation, Sgt. Higley continued teaching.

“If you’re texting and driving, that’s like driving the length of two football fields with your eyes closed at 55 miles an hour,” Higley said.

“Really?” Gilbert asked.

“How many things can happen in that amount of time, whether it be deer or people crossing in front of you, or just the fact that you might go off the road and hit something?” Higley asked.

“You are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash while you’re texting and driving,” he said.

In fact, Higley said texting and driving accidents are more prevalent now than drunken-driving accidents are for youth.

“It used to be every 15 minutes someone in the United States would die from a drinking and driving accident,” he said. “That number’s actually going down and texting and driving is going up. People are dying from doing it.”

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