By Jaxton Hutton
On April 13, 2026, Officer Tyler Priddle put on a Mock DUI for Juniors and Seniors to deter driving under the influence. One in 4 teen crashes are due to a Driving Impaired and 30% of all traffic deaths relate to intoxication.
During 6th Hour, upperclassmen participated in a mock DUI. Student actors acted in an accident in the parking lot at Goddard High. Local enforcement were present at the scene helping bring the accident to a reality.
“We can't predict students' decisions, we just hope that it reaches them to where it challenges them to think about the impact they have on their life and potentially others lives,” said Officer Tyler Priddle.
In addition to the mock event, students heard testimonies from community members who were affected by a DUI.
“I think the testimony from the DUI Victims speakers helped show the impact of what driving while intoxicated could be, as well as the handout that showed the average cost of a first DUI at approximately $16k. These demonstrations are intended to educate the masses about how the events are handled by first responders, the legal side of the events and the emotional/moral side of it with the fact there are major and life threatening injuries,” said Priddle.
Rescue workers assess injuries to accident victims in mock DUI demonstration.
And with organizing an event such as this, the hope is students will see what can happen while driving under the influence.
“The goal is then that some of that information or emotional impact sticks with the students so that when potentially faced with those decisions, they can remember all the risks and dangers to make a smart and potentially life saving decision,” said Priddle.
This helped people learn the decision to not drink in drive and having classmates act out the parts may have helped people realize the outcome to drinking under the influence. They also got to learn how Fire and Police respond to accidents like this. They also got to have a victim speak to them to show how it truly affects people in day to day life.