Students see firsthand severity of driving under influence

Andrew Enslinger

Police officers, first responders and firefighters visited Derby High School today for demonstration of one scenario that could happen while driving under the influence.

Juniors and seniors watched as the presentation played out.

The severity of a DUI is immense — it affects students, parents, faculty, and even the first responders. Seeing students injured, or even killed, takes its toll on people and it is important that the students understand how much of a problem it is.

“Some kids at this school don’t know anything about drunk driving, or take it seriously at all; and even if it was mostly viewed as a joke, I think we can all learn from it in one way or another,” Addison Pagels said.

According to Pagels, every little bit of learning is worth it in the end. Students view distracted driving as less of a problem than it really is, so it is helpful that the school provides its students with a demonstration.

Senior TJ Holt believes that people don’t necessarily know how bad something is until it happens to them.

“People don’t understand the severity of the situation unless it’s really shown to them before they have to go through it,” Holt said, “No one deserves to go through something like this, and doing a mock DUI is a good way to show them before it’s too late,” Holt said.