Health & Fitness
Libertyville High students get crash course in distracted driving
Nearly 100 Libertyville High School students experienced firsthand the negative impact of distracted driving at Advocate Condell Medical Center’s “Trauma Day” last week.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately nine Americans are killed and more than 1,000 are injured each day in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.
“We felt Trauma Day was a way for high school students to see that distracted driving can impact their lives,” said Kim Kusch, RN, Trauma Coordinator at Advocate Condell. “It’s not just texting or drinking and driving. It can also be changing music, eating or talking to someone else in the car – it can all put you at risk.”
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Medical personnel led the teens through a variety of stations, including a distracted driving simulator, sobriety tests while wearing “drunk goggles”, hands-on lessons in suturing, and a trip to the hospital’s helipad. Also present were members from Libertyville Fire and Police, Flight for Life and Gift of Hope.
“We hope that this program will help the students make good decisions when they’re driving or in the car with others,” Kusch said. “And that they’ll just make smart decisions overall so they can live long, happy and healthy lives.”
