Don't Drink and Drive

Four students designed drunk-driving simulation software to encourage sober passengers to speak up. Andy Gupta '00 and Ryan Miller '00, both computer science majors, Mark Sandford '99, English, and Vanessa Vanderberg '00, behavioral neuroscience, worked with adviser Dan Bauer, associate professor of anthropology and sociology, to create a simulator that is designed for two people and that is more realistic than simulators currently in use.

By designing a two-person simulator showing two perspectives -- a drunk driver, a sober passenger -- students hope to change the social atmosphere surrounding drunk driving. The simulator is geared toward people other than the drunk drivers themselves, says Bauer. "Maybe by showing the perspective of the passenger you can induce people to be more critical of those driving drunk."

Another innovation is to create a more realistic experience. In the leading simulator now being used the controls are not realistic, says Sandford.

"You never get a sensation of moving, so it becomes more like a game and you don't get a lot from it." Another problem is that what the user sees when "drunk" is the same as when "sober," not the case in real life.

To address these problems, the students experimented with ways to simulate the loss of peripheral vision, which studies have shown to be a side effect of drinking, says Vanderberg. To develop visuals for the program, they videotaped roads as they drove down them using a wide-angle lens to simulate sober vision and a telephoto lens to simulate reduced peripheral vision.

The idea for the project came from Dr. John Updegrove, a retired surgeon in Easton, who has had many patients involved in drunk-driving accidents.

The team worked with the Greater Lehigh Valley Automobile Dealer's Association to create the prototype that is now part of the interactive health exhibits at Weller Center for Health Education, 325 Northampton St., Easton.

By designing a two-person simulator showing two perspectives— a drunk driver, a sober passenger— students hope to change the social atmosphere surrounding drunk driving.