Staff Photo by Danielle Moore Katie Beth Jenkins drives with Officer Sean Scott during Dalton High School's "Fatal Vision" exercise to teach students about the dangers of drunk driving. Volunteers choose goggles with various impairment levels and try to avoid obstacles while driving a golf cart through traffic cones.

DALTON, Ga. — About 150 Dalton High School students got behind the wheel Wednesday for an eye-opening — if blurry — experience.

“I felt dizzy,” said Ansley Burgess, 14, after driving the Dalton Police Department’s Fatal Vision golf cart. She steered through a course outlined by orange cones while wearing goggles simulating what a driver sees and feels under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“I kept seeing orange cones everywhere,” she said. “It helps you realize the consequences (of drinking and driving) and why not to do it.”

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 23 percent of drivers ages 15 to 20 killed in crashes in 2005 had blood alcohol levels of 0.08 or higher, the CDC reported.

This is the sixth year Dalton’s Traffic Enforcement Unit has held the Fatal Vision program at the high school, Officer Steve Zahn said. The officers talk about the responsibilities that come with getting a driver’s license. This year, they also discussed the dangers of driving while texting or huffing — inhaling gas from spray cans or glue, said Officer Zahn.

“It’s hard enough to be an inexperienced driver here on the roads today,” he said, “but it’s also doubly important to pay attention, whether you have your friends in the car or you’ve been out having fun at night, and to realize that the wrong decision could change your life forever.”

Ninth-grader Cole Calfee, who has a learner’s permit, said driving the golf cart through the 200-foot path was a lot harder than it seemed.

“Your vision was really impaired, you couldn’t really tell, your depth-perception was off by a lot,” said the ninth grader.

“(The police officers) are trying to tell them ‘This isn’t a joy ride or a fun ride,’” said Dalton High School health teacher Bob Brotherton. “It takes a split second in an automobile for them to get killed and, if we just save one life, it’s worthwhile.”

TEEN DRIVERS FAST FACTS

* Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens.

* The risk of crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than any other age group.

* Crash risk is particularly high during the first year that teenagers are eligible to drive.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

PDF: CDC teen drivers fact sheet