The Trenton Times published the following article on June 8, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
High schools in Mercer County and around the state were given surprise gifts yesterday: driving simulators with fifteen different programs that allow students in their classrooms to buckle-up and get real experience behind the wheel.
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance of Ewing awarded the 55 simulators, worth a total of $700,000, to every school that participated in the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey’s Champion Schools Program, the company said. The company announced the gifts at the third annual “U Got Brains” event in Freehold yesterday, which promoted safe driving practices.
The schools awarded the simulators included Princeton High School, Trenton High School West and Villa Victoria Academy in Ewing.
Princeton High driver’s education teacher Kelsey O’Gorman said she and the seven students that took part in the competition and attended the event had no idea they would get a simulator.
The device is “a dream come true. They are expensive and hard to get your hands on,” O’Gorman said. “This will make their interest levels skyrocket. I know if I had one of these when I was in high school I’d be more intrigued and engaged in class.”
Typically NJM awards two simulators to winners of its competitions, but the company upped the ante this year as it celebrated the centennial of its founding and gave every entrant a simulator. Fifty-five schools participated in the program, creating campaigns to promote safe driving habits, the company said.
The winners of this year’s competition were from Lenape Regional High School District in Medford and Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJM said. The two winners also received $10,000 for post-prom events.
Students at Princeton High School created a variety of public service projects for the competition, including petition drives, information booths and public displays, O’Gorman said.
Princeton High senior Rebecca Freda said they designed five different life-sized cars out of cardboard, which students would walk around school wearing. The cars represented different bad driving habits, such as texting while driving and drunk driving.
“Students came up and signed a pledge,” the 17-year-old Freda said. “It was really well-received. There were a lot of people who wanted to find all the cars and sign the pledges.”
Contact Jon Offredo at joffredo@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5680.