Safe 2 Save visits Cypress Ranch
November 8, 2018
Before and during lunch, the main hall of Cypress Ranch was more popular than usual, with dozens of students crowded around a giant screen. The screen in question was for a driving simulator that was set up and being moderated by Safe 2 Save, who were visiting the campus that day to spread the importance of save driving.
Safe 2 Save is a company based in Texas — founded by Marci Corry in 2016, who wanted to raise awareness about driving safety after a student lost his life to a distracted driver in College Station.
To demonstrate the dangers of texting and driving, Safe 2 Save set up a driving simulator in the main hall, next to a table with pamphlets, goodies, and Safe 2 Save stickers.
The driving simulator was typically played in a first-person view, as seen in this picture.
In the simulator, students were tasked with a simple objective: stay on the road. The caveat was that they’d have to look at their phones at the same time and try to focus on both their mobile devices and driving straight.
As expected, most students were quick to drive off the road or crash into the other cars. While the road was fairly barren with only a few cars traveling in either direction, attempting to focus on both driving and reading proved to be a difficult challenge for many.
Students are shown the dangers of texting and driving.
To help further promote safe driving, Safe 2 Save also promoted their eponymous app, which will reward students for driving safely. According to the Safe 2 Save speaker we spoke to, the app rewards students with points when they’re driving above 10mph.
These points can in turn be redeemed for prizes such as Chick-fil-A gift cards and rewards from Safe 2 Save partners. The app is free and available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, roughly 3,450 people died in 2016 from fatal crashes caused by distractions such as texting in the United States. Safe 2 Save hopes to save lives and help the future generation of drivers make the road a safer place.