By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Newly licensed motorists in Osceola County will learn how distracted they can become when texting and driving thanks to a new simulator the Kissimmee Police Department is acquiring.

The Kissimmee City Commission Tuesday unanimously approved the use of $9,002 from an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Justice Assistance Grant to purchase the One Simple Decision simulation-based driving program.

Kissimmee Mayor Jim Swan is supportive of any program that helps the community, particularly if it’s funded by a grant.

“I’m guilty of it myself, talking to somebody while driving. To me (texting while driving) is no difference than DUI (driving while under the influence),” he said. “Everybody in this day and time is into instant community and it’s a mistake for anyone to do it. An automobile is more deadly than a gun.”                

The simulator, which will be the only one in Osceola County, is a first-of-its-kind impaired and distracted driving program geared toward teenagers and young adults to prevent destructive driving practices.

Stacie Miller, the police department’s public information officer, has made educating young drivers about the dangers of texting while driving her pet project, working with the city for more than a year to acquire the simulator.

Miller anticipated that the simulator would be delivered in mid-November, just before her first scheduled event at St. Cloud High School, where students will get to test the technology during Traffic Safety Week.

Students will take the nearly five-minute simulation on the standalone, completely portable system that includes realistic foot pedals, a steering wheel and the monitor. The program also allows users to choose between day or night simulation.

Students will use their own cell phones during the demonstration, on which text messages will appear from the program while a “passenger” gives the driver directions. The program will continue to send text messages if the user attempts to ignore them.

The program will then measure how many times the driver crosses over traffic lines, crashes or hits pedestrians. It also can be used to simulate impaired driving.

Additionally, Miller will present during health classes the public service announcement the department filmed at Osceola High School in March while getting students to sign a pledge not to text while driving.

The pledges, Miller said, would further outgoing police Chief Fran Iwanski’s mission for safer drivers.

“The simulator is a nice compliment to the texting while driving presentation we provide,” she said, adding all Osceola County high schools have a copy of the PSA and use it as part of the driving safety course.

Miller hopes to bring the entire presentation to assemblies at every county high school to reach as broad a population as possible.

Additionally, Miller is working with the Florida Safety Council to have the PSA shown during the mandated drug and alcohol class required for individuals getting their drivers license for the first time.

“That’s what we’re hoping,” she said.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 39 states have laws against texting while driving for all drivers.

While a texting while driving ban isn’t on Florida law books, despite a push from some legislators, it does fall under distracted driving, as it does in other states such as Maine, New Hampshire and Utah.

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ most recent statistics on distracted driving, from 2008, found distracted driving has increased steadily for 20 years because of technological advances such as cell phones and the perceived need to be continuously connected.

According to its data, more than half of U.S. drivers admit to texting while driving within the last 30 days, with one in seven adults admitting to the act while 47 percent of drivers age 16-24 stated they text while driving.