Delaware launched its first Impaired Driving Simulator Program earlier this year.
And now, the program is looking to expand.
The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement used a $140,000-dollar grant from Highmark Delaware to purchase the simulator, which debuted earlier this year in January.
And spokesman Jason Atallian says it’s another tool to drive down the almost 4,000 DUI arrests made in the state last year, “The simulator allows us to reach out to the community and be involved with driver’s education (classes) and be involved with other law enforcement agencies in the State by providing this simulator. It can simulate up to 70 different vehicles. It can change your impairment level and it is as close to real as you can get.”
Atallian says close to 800 people have taken the simulator for a spin at the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement headquarters in Dover.
Now, the division is teaming up with the Office of Highway Safety to take it to schools and community events statewide to highlight the dangers of impaired driving.
“The goal is to have all the driver’s education programs up and down the State - to have them put through it," said Atallian. "We’ll take it to law enforcement agencies and other public safety departments and have their in-service training done with it. It’s a huge undertaking but it’s something we’ve been looking forward to.”
He says the simulator gives drivers - especially new and young drivers - a chance to understand the dangers of impaired driving by experiencing various conditions, hazards and scenarios as if they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Last year, there were 1,050 DUI related crashes in the First State and 3,972 DUI arrests made.
A $140,000 grant from Highmark Delaware paid for the simulator.
Atallian says it’s booked through summer 2022 at various venues and events.
