The Michigan State Police Department held a drunk-driving simulation here at St. Louis High School April 14, 2025 during lunch within the cafeteria. Students were given goggles that simulate either the effects of being either drunk or high before being seated ahead of a simulation to drive. Many staff and students struggled and failed to do the test, with the end result being a simulated lecture on a police officer doing a check on the driver before speaking on the dangers of drunk driving.
“I felt like it was just hard because when you would turn just a little bit the car would swerve,” said sophomore Jackson Schulz. “I feel like the difficulty of driving in the simulator compared to normal driving is quite a difference,” he added.
Junior Izabelle Stiffler said, “I feel like the difficulty of driving in the simulator compared to normal driving is quite a difference. As far as if it accurately replicates the difficulty of driving drunk, I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been drunk while driving. The goggles were extremely disorienting, I never want to get drunk or get high if that’s what it will look like. Then again, that could be intentional by the police department – scaring us out of using substances at all,” she added.
Freshman Selah Sprague said, “It was frustrating because I currently have no licence and haven’t taken any driver’s training. I feel that the experience could properly show the difficulty of driving under the influence.” She added, “the goggles that simulated being under the influence of alcohol were a minor nuisance, while the goggles that simulated being under the influence of marijuana were disorienting.”
According to the official Michigan Government website, 41 percent of all fatalities on the road involved alcohol or drugs. The Michigan State Police held these simulations to show students the difficulty of driving while under the influence, and how it can easily lead to accidents and casualties. Students will forever be advised to not drive while drunk or under the effect of drugs, and to drive safely to ensure the safety of everyone.
