ABOVE: Officer Adam Wells and Manuel Rojo watch Jacob Kasting and Oscar Magallanes Lopez operate go-karts while wearing impairment goggles on Thursday. The two were tasked with weaving around traffic cones without colliding.

FAIRMONT — Fairmont High School takes teaching students about road safety and drugs to the next level with interactive challenges. For many FHS sophomores, the anticipation of getting on the road with a brand-new driver’s license is greater than ever. Martin County law enforcement, FHS and Martin County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition/Empower hope to provoke students to ‘steer away’ from harmful substances while behind the wheel.

For 35 years, Chris Engelby has been a Health and Physical Education teacher and oversees the Impaired Goggles Activity, a once-a-semester opportunity and part of the Alcohol and Distracted Driving unit in her class. The activity has operated for 20 years, consisting of around seven unique stations that reflect real-life endangerments. It includes a distracted driving simulator, DWI go-kart track, bean bag toss, puzzles, obstacle placemat, lights test and walking in a straight line assessment, all with impairment goggles worn. The goggles show students in Health Ed class how individuals under the influence of opioids, alcohol and cannabis see the world–especially the roads.

“It’s funded through Empower, they supply the goggles and equipment,” Engelby said, “It’s wonderful that we can also have school resource, police and deputy officers to interact with the kids.”

MCSAP/Empower Project Coordinator Shelly Larson and several local officers were present at the event yesterday morning to assist students through the multiple courses and rotations. Engelby concurred that because the students have reached the typical age to acquire a driver’s license, it’s important to teach the possible dangers of driving carelessly and how to be safe on the road. The addition of law enforcement not only gives officers a chance to bond with students in the community but also provides said students with on-site professionals.

“Most of these kids are sophomores, driving age, but a lot of them don’t have permits yet, so they haven’t started driving. These hands-on activities benefit them greatly,” Engelby stated, “At the start of the semester, the kids really look forward to this.”

With the change in accessibility to cannabis, including Minn. state’s legalization of the plant in Aug. 2023, much attention has been given to cannabis-simulating goggles, being officially used in Engelby’s class three years ago.

“I’ve been teaching for years, and we always talk about [the dangers of driving under the influence]. Recreational and medical marijuana is available in our state, so the kids can wear cannabis goggles and see how dangerous it can be [on the roads],” Engelby added, stressing the importance of the activities. She agreed that hands-on activities could help students register information and stay engaged regarding substance and alcohol abuse lessons, rather than simply talking about it in class.

Addy Urban, a student participant, shared her thoughts following the experience.

“It was really hard to do,” she recalled with a chuckle, “I came into the class thinking, ‘Oh, this won’t be difficult at all’, but I didn’t realize it would actually be like this,” Urban added that this hands-on learning opportunity is important for the class.

Martin County Officer Adam Wells shared why the event is significant for student and community safety.

“All of this is to help promote awareness and safety through the children,” Wells said. “[We want] to make it aware that driving while impaired is extremely dangerous for yourself and other drivers on the road.”

Wells and other officers stress the severe repercussions of driving while impaired.

“We try to encourage them to be safe on the road. It wouldn’t be good to get your license and then have it revoked. The goggles give the student a good perspective. They need to be safe,”

Engelby extended her gratitude to the officers and Larson, who all played significant roles in making the activity possible. Engelby, Empower and officers alike hope that the experience will encourage students to make smart and safe choices, especially as driver’s education classes and tests approach.