Dec 12, 2007 9:53 pm US/Eastern
Miami-Dade Puts DUI Fighting Center On The Road
Interactive DUI Mobile Educational Center Is Updated In Time For Holiday Drinking
DORAL (CBS4) ―
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A little good cheer can lead to a lot of problems if you drink and drive, someting an updates mobile DUI educational center is trying to prevent.
Spiked eggnog and other libations can make for dangerous driving during the holidays. That's when police step in to take those drivers off the road, but now, Miami-Dade police are trying to keep teens from getting on the road drunk in the first place, with a newly updated mobile educational van unveiled Wednesday.
The DUI mobile education center goes out into the community with a mission to educate people about the dangers and costs of driving drunk. The mobile DUI center also visits middle schools and high schools where students may already drinking, and are preparing to get their drivers license.
The reaction was overwhelming for a group of students who got a tour of the mobile DUI center on Wednesday. They said it's a great way to get young people's attention about the dangers of drinking and driving.
The updated van includes interactive computer programs which help people understand the consequences and the costs of driving drunk. There are three interactive screens that test the students' knowledge. They can also "walk the line" with special goggles in order to see how difficult it is to function when impaired.
When 16-year old Juan Lopez put the goggles on, he could barely see and said he felt like he was blind.
Another interactive feature is called "Fatal Reflections". Each person who gets on the mobile unit can have their picture taken and it's not a pretty one. The picture shows the person bloodied and bruised as a way to show them what they would look like after being involved in a fatal accident or an accident involving alcohol.
Some costs are clear, especially when a drunk driver hits a car or a person, often leading to death. But even in drunk driving arrests where an accident is involved, Miami-Dade police claim the average cost of processing a DUI arrest in Miami-Dade is more than $8 thousand dollars, a price paid by taxpayers.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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