Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 16, 1993 TAG: 9311160018
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Five years ago, a drunken driver plowed into her car on Interstate 64 near Williamsburg, killing her sister and breaking Altman's body from head to toe.
She is working to organize a Mothers Against Drunk Driving movement in the Roanoke area. Since moving to Smith Mountain Lake from Richmond last year, she has recruited at least 100 members.
She was on the sidelines at the school Monday, hoping the drunken-driving simulator would make believers out of high school juniors and seniors.
"I think the kids enjoyed it," she said. "But they've learned a lesson from it."
To her, the point of the lesson is plain.
"When you become intoxicated, you give up some control," she said.
That's the lesson that the drunken-driver simulator was supposed to impart. Sponsored by MADD and Dominion Dodge, the simulator uses a computer to alter a car's steering and braking to show the slowed reaction time of someone who is drunk.
The students were asked to provide their weight, so the computer could calculate how much booze it would take to push them over the legal limit for intoxication.
Then they steered though an obstacle course of bright orange cones. All smashed a large number of cones.
"It definitely teaches you not to drink and drive," said Sara Gubala, student body president. "You really feel what it's like."
Not quite. Just ask Brenda Altman.
She still carries a cane and wears a permanent leg brace to help her walk. The scar tissue inside may take longer to heal.
She doesn't remember the impact that sent her to the intensive care unit at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and sent her sister to the morgue.
She only remembers pulling around a van and things going black.
The man who struck her is on the road again after serving three years of a 10-year sentence. He said he didn't remember how he had pulled into the oncoming lane of traffic on I-64 prior to the accident.
Altman hopes Monday's demonstration will make Salem students more thoughtful about drinking and driving.
That's what Barney Nunley, a Salem police officer assigned to the school, was hoping, too.
"This is not going to solve all the problems," Nunley said. "It is an excellent opportunity for someone to recognize how out of control they can be."
by CNB