BPCC Students Get "Wasted Behind the Wheel"

Wednesday Bossier Parish Community College students got a firsthand look at the consequences of drinking and driving. Thanks to the help of "Wasted Behind The Wheel," which is a state of the art DWI simulator. "You go in knowing what`s going to happen you know you`re going to get into a wreck," said student Paul Huber. The simulator was brought in for BPCC drug awareness week. It`s a part of the C.A.R.E national tour. C.A.R.E. stands for Consistent Alcohol Awareness Reform Through Education. And it seems the ride has a sobering effect on its passengers. "It changed my mind about a lot of things," said student Christina Harrison. The experience hit home for Chris Brannon. He was there when one of his friends decided to drink and drive. "We were out a club one night and we were all drinking pretty heavily. An then we were all on our way to another party after we left the club and he ran a red light and ran into someone," said Brannon. Luckily Chris`s friend survived the crash. The C.A.R.E program is all about preventing those kinds of wrecks by changing young people`s views about alcohol. "Maybe they`ll think twice before they step into a car drunk. Or step into a car with a drunk driver. Maybe they`ll be smart enough and grab the keys or call a cab for their friend," said C.A.R.E. representative Tammy Tasma. Last year nearly 17-thousand Americans died in alcohol related wrecks. More than 2300 of them happened in the Ark-La-Tex.