We all know people who have bad driving habits such as following to close, not using turn signals and aggression. Like most things in life, bad habits are hard to break. While looking at the Fernandina Beach Police Department’s Web site, I ran across this tidbit:

“The Fernandina Beach Police Department recognizes that some young people develop bad driving habits that include elements of road rage and aggressive driving and we are actively working with area schools to educate and promote positive reinforcement and scenario-based training. Our course utilizes special DUI goggles to simulate the affects of driving while impaired and also emphasizes the life altering aspects of being held accountable for the death or injury of another after a DUI traffic crash. We explain the point system and driving history to students and talk about the ramifications associated with the loss of driving privileges as it relates to employment and continuing education.”

My daughter will get her learner’s permit on her next birthday, so, I called around to a few teenagers that I know have earned their driver’s license to find out more about this lesson. The class is taught in high school as part of the normal curriculum in HOPE, which is the physical education class. Of course, many of the students goof off when trying the goggles, but from what I have been told, they are a great tool to teach these youngsters how your vision becomes impaired while intoxicated.