UAB students are invited to participate in “Reality Rides” to encourage safe driving.University of Alabama at Birmingham students are getting a crash course in the dangers of texting while driving.
Allstate Reality Rides is a distracted driving simulator that aims to prevent avoidable collisions. In its third year, the campaign builds awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and offers tips and information on how to be safer behind the wheel.
Reality Rides features a real but stationary car equipped with virtual reality technology that displays a responsive animated environment on a curved LED television embedded in the windshield. Using the steering wheel and gas and brake pedals, the driver is tasked with driving while also attempting to text, talk on the phone and enter navigation system directions. Participants are given traffic “tickets” that reveal potential infractions a driver could receive if the experience happened in real life, and have the opportunity to take the Allstate X the TXT pledge to not text and drive.
Reality Rides will be stationed on the UAB Green on Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Visit the official X the TXT Facebook page to learn more.