THUNDER BAY -- It’s the teenage years where lifelong habits are set – especially behind the wheel.
On Friday Grade 11 students at Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute spent much of the morning learning what they should and shouldn’t do while driving.
They also learned the implications and consequences of their actions, the message driven home of the thousands in fines and increased insurance costs they could expect – not to mention being inadmissible to the United States – if they’re convicted of an impaired driving charge.
The teens took part in the Sweet Life Road Show, a program brought this week to several Northwestern Ontario schools and it was an eye opener, said 16-year-old Emily Boyko, a Grade 11 student at the south-side school who five months ago acquired a G1 driver’s licence.
For example, she had no idea how long alcohol can remain in one’s system.
“It lasts a long time. The majority of people my group thought it lasted 24 hours, but we learned it could last up to two days, which is very surprising,” the youngster said. “If you’re driving two days later you don’t really think about that.”
Boyko said she’s confident the message will stick with her and her fellow classmates, whether it’s the danger of tailing a transport too closely and the modern-day perils of texting and driving.
She added she won’t be afraid to speak up if she sees friends or family members breaking the rules of the road.
“For sure,” she said.
“Personally, if I see someone misbehaving, I try to correct them. But I want other people to be like that, so I think things like this will help that,” she said, adding it can be daunting as a new driver.
“But between my parents and my driving instructor, it’s all getting a little bit better.”
Not all drivers – young and old alike – are as responsible in their vehicle.
But the younger the message is taught, the more likely it will stick, said the Ministry of Transportation’s Tom Marinis.
“At the age of 16, 17 and 18, this is where we need to impress upon them, get those driving habits down right now, know that the penalties are severe in the province of Ontario and know that we’re not going to be tolerating that,” Marinis said.
“We need to make sure they carry that forward and they tell their friends.”
Marinis said he’s hopeful to expand the program, which visited Hammarskjold High School last year, to other schools in the future.
