Spring break is on the horizon for scores of local students, and Lynn University hosted a recent event to highlight the dangers associated with risky behavior. The fourth annual Safe Spring Break Carnival featured an obstacle course simulating drunk driving, a video driving game and safe sex information and education.
“I started doing this because I got really tired of seeing young people dying on the roads. One of the worst things officers have to do is notify next of kin, and if I have spared one family that tragedy I will have done my job,” said occupant protection specialist Trooper Conya Bassett.
Bassett was running the obstacle course where students drove golf carts around a small field littered with cones and barriers.
“They wear these Fatal Vision Goggles which simulate various levels of impairment,” said Bassett.
Lynn University junior Mala Haddioui, 20, sported the blurred goggles representing a blood alcohol content level of .20 and said it was no easy chore.
“I messed up quite a few times, and I don’t know why anyone would try to drive under those conditions. I do think young people are embracing the message and drive under the influence less than in prior years,” she said.