Dangers of distracted and drunken driving highlighted during mock drill
Virginia Tech students, employees, and community members are invited to watch as the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad partners with the Blacksburg Fire Department, the Virginia Tech Police Department, and a Carillon Life-Guard med-evac helicopter to conduct a simulated motor vehicle collision at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25.
The mock DUI event will take place on Drillfield Drive between Davidson and Sandy halls. The event is free and open to the public. Emergency vehicle flashing lights and sirens will be used during the drill.
The simulation is intended to raise awareness of the dangers and life-threatening consequences of driving distracted or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
- Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded, according to a 2009 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
The simulated accident will be staged on the Drillfield and will include victims trapped in vehicles. Rescue squad and fire department teams will use the Jaws of Life to remove patients from the vehicles. The med-evac helicopter will then simulate the transport of a critically injured patient by landing on and lifting off from the grassy field adjacent to Grove Lane.
The event will last approximately 90 minutes. The section of Drillfield Drive between Davidson and Sandy halls will be closed to vehicular traffic from 2:30-8 p.m. to allow for set up, the drill itself, and clean up. Traffic on West Campus Drive will be stopped for a brief period of time during the emergency response to the Drillfield via Grove Lane and West Campus Drive.
Free parking is available after 5 p.m. in the Perry Street lots and the Perry Street Parking Garage near Prices Fork Road. Parking on the Drillfield requires a visitor’s pass until 8 p.m. Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200.
