2 driver simulators donated through project
Maria Tiberi was a 21-year-old graphic design student at The Ohio State University when an unthinkable tragedy struck her and her family Sept. 17, 2013.
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Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley demonstrates how a new distracted driving simulator works Monday to members of the Bellefontaine Rotary Club and guests. The device is one of two soon to be available to Logan County high school students via Maria Tiberi Foundation, the service club and several area businesses. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | T.J. HUBBARD)
Randy Dodds, chief deputy of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, instructs Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler Monday how to operate one of two distracted driving simulators soon to be available to local high school students via the Maria Tiberi Foundation, Bellefontaine Rotary Club and several area businesses.
Bellefontaine Rotary Club member Brent Swartz speaks Monday about the club’s efforts to help obtain two distracted driving simulators and a climate-controlled trailer for use by Logan County high school students via donations from the Maria Tiberi Foundation and several area businesses.
Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley explains how a new distracted driving simulator works Monday to members of the Bellefontaine Rotary Club and guests. The device is one of two soon to be available to Logan County high school students via Maria Tiberi Foundation, the service club and several area businesses. |
That evening, she left her family’s Columbus area home, and just minutes later, her car slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that was stopped in a middle lane of Interstate 270 because of construction ahead. Traffic was flowing around the stopped semi, but for some reason, Ms. Tiberi did not maneuver around the vehicle.
The daughter of Channel 10 WBNS-TV Columbus sports anchor Dom Tiberi and Terri Tiberi was wearing her seat belt, driving the speed limit, and her phone was locked and in her purse on the floor of the back seat, but something distracted her. The crash claimed the young woman’s life.
“We don’t know what the distraction was, but we are hoping that through our efforts, we can help to raise awareness of all types of driving distractions and prevent as many distraction-related accidents as possible,” representatives of the Maria Tiberi Foundation state on the foundation’s Web site, www.mariatiberifoundation.org.
With that goal in mind, the organization created by her family, friends and many other supporters in her memory has endeavored to spread the preventative message through speaking engagements and also through a new technological tool — a driver simulator.
A joint effort between the foundation and the Bellefontaine Rotary Club will make this teaching instrument available to many Logan County youths and adults.
Monday afternoon, the Rotary Club made a driver simulator presentation to area law enforcement at the club’s meeting at the Logan County Friendly Senior Center, 934 S. Main St., Bellefontaine.
In a special surprise, members revealed that not just one, but two driver simulators will be donated to the community. During recent months, the Rotary Club raised $15,000 for the effort through donations from area businesses and organizations, and the Maria Tiberi Foundation was so impressed with the community’s generosity that the foundation pitched in for an additional simulator.
“The support we’ve received is just outstanding in our small town community. We can’t thank everybody enough,” said club member Dr. Brent Swartz, who helped spearhead the project.
“Our primary goal is to get it into the schools, and then from there, to reach other community members at different events. If we can keep one student, or one person, out of an accident, it is worth every penny.”
While the Bellefontaine Police Department will be the managing recipient of the two systems, representatives of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and other area law enforcement agencies also will partner in the effort to utilize the simulators for school outreaches, community events and other educational activities.
“All of this wouldn’t have been possible without our generous donors,” Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley said. “This is a solid project for them to stand behind and a project they can be proud of.”
Last fall, Dr. Swartz said he had looked into hosting Mr. Tiberi as a distracted driver speaker for the Rotary Club’s student organization, Interact Club, at Bellefontaine, Benjamin Logan and Riverside schools.
During his research about the Maria Tiberi Foundation, he learned about the new driver simulator project that the foundation offers in partnership with Virtual Driver Interactive Inc. of El Dorado Hills, Calif. Through that initiative, the foundation has assisted with the placement of nearly two dozen driver simulators in locations around Ohio, including with police departments and schools, according to www.mariatiberifoundation.org.
“I thought this just sounded like the perfect way to give back to our community,” said Dr. Swartz said, an optometrist at Swartz Family Eyecare, 2150 Ewing Crawfis Circle, Bellefontaine. He served as the Rotary Club president in 2013 and in a number of other capacities with the club as well.
From there, he worked with Mr. Tiberi and the foundation and the club started seeking donations for the project. Area law enforcement officials, including Chief Standley and Logan County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jeff Anspach, also became involved with the initiative.
Deputy Anspach said the simulators allow participants to try out various scenarios and possible distractions, such as texting while driving and impaired driving, all while noting their reaction time to various events on the roadway. Participants’ personal cell phones also can be plugged into the simulator and then they can receive messages while operating the system, as was demonstrated Monday.
For reaching youths and adults, the deputy said he believes this hands-on aspect will be very effective.
“I think one of the benefits is we’re not just telling someone about the dangers of texting while driving or any of the other behaviors. Instead, the participants actually get to see what it’s actually like and the consequences of these different decisions.
“People learn in so many different ways, and I think the hands-on approach is a great way to present this topic.”
Chief Standley said the system provides a realistic look at some of the unfortunate outcomes of distracted driving.
“If you wrecked because you were distracted, video footage comes in with police responding and also helicopter response if you’re injured. Then you might wake up in a hospital bed.
“It also plays out that you might end up in front of a judge in a courtroom to face some of the legal consequences.”
During the upcoming months, law enforcement officials said plans are to offer the driving simulators at each of the area schools, likely leaving the technological tool at one school for a few weeks at a time to allow more pupils to experience the various behind-the-wheel situations.
In addition to the school activities, the simulators will be available at various community functions throughout the year so that other groups also can try it out.
A trailer to haul the driver simulators has been donated by Wren’s Towing & Recovery of DeGraff, Dr. Swartz noted. The Bellefontaine Examiner and V-Tech Communications will split the cost of adding electricity and heating and cooling to the trailer, as well as a vinyl substrate to its exterior.
Other donations received by the Bellefontaine Rotary Club toward the $15,000 total included the following donors: Belletech Corporation, Bellefontaine Police Department, Alan Galvez Insurance, Bob Pallenshus State Farm Insurance, David Dailey State Farm Insurance, State Farm Insurance Company’s matching corporate donation, Stolly Insurance Group for the Ohio School Plan, Hill & Hamilton Insurance, Liberty National Bank, along with donations by individual Rotary Club members.