PHOENIX — National Teen Driver Safety Week is coming up, but for Driving MBA, safety week is all year long.
Kathleen Ryan sits behind her student in a driving simulator. Today, she's actually telling them to text while driving.
"I want you to text your mom, 'Dear Mom, I promise not to text and drive because I know it's dangerous,'" she says to Mekhi Jobe, who just got his learner's permit two weeks ago.
Jobe begins to text, but then crashes.
"I got distracted," he says.
This is just a simulator, but on Arizona roads, crashes due to distracted drivers happen thousands of times a year.
By showing students, and not just telling them how dangerous it is, Ryan hopes to play a small part in lowering that number.
Jobe says the scenario was eye-opening.
“Every time I looked down, then looked back up, something else was changing on the road," Jobe said.
Ryan says getting this message to kids is important, but adds parents also need to set the proper example.
“If they see you on your phone, if they see you going 10 to 15 miles over the speed limit, what are they going to do when they get behind the wheel,” Ryan said.
It's a continued team effort to make sure Valley teens hit the roads safely without becoming another statistic.
“I’ll try now to prepare myself to not touch my phone until I’m at my destination," Jobe said.
