FORT STEWART, Ga. - The "Save a Life" tour made a stop at Stewart-Hunter, to increase driver awareness on the consequences of drinking and driving, April 26 at Fort Stewart's Caro Gym. The high impact drinking awareness program, sponsored by Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield Substance Abuse Program, worked to discourage Soldiers and Army Civilians from driving while under the influence.
"When you drink you get a reaction time delay, and it happens to everyone," said Andrew Tipton, tour manager. "It takes longer for the brain to process things," he added.
The tour is personal for Tipton, as he survived a fatal car accident involving an intoxicated driver.
"While I was in college, I got into an accident with two of my friends, my buddy was driving and they were both killed," Tipton said. "I was the one that survived and I want to make a difference and show people the dangers of drinking and driving."
According to tour information, one person is killed every 32 minutes in an alcohol related driving crash and one person is injured every 26 seconds. Alcohol kills more young people than cocaine, heroin and any other illegal drug combined.
As part of the program, attendees used the drinking and driving simulator and had the opportunity to feel what it's like to drive while intoxicated.
"It shows you from a sober perspective, how your brain reacts to time delay," said Tipton. "Anything your hands and feet can touch, we are going to delay. So it's like you are sober and the car is intoxicated, therefore you are driving while intoxicated."
"With the car acting like it was drunk, it was hard making the turns and keep it going straight," said Pfc. Garrett Gibbons, 1/64 tank crewman.
The mission of ASAP is to reinforce the overall fitness and efficiency of the 3rd ID's total workforce by offering substance abuse prevention and education programs, like "Save a Life." The tour's mission is simple, to save lives.
"The tour is kind of an eye opener, seeing how graphic the accidents can be," said Pvt. Bradley Haines. "People can preach about drunk driving all they want, however, some people need to be shown."
For more information on ASAP, call 912-767-5974 (Stewart) or 912-315-5592 (Hunter) or visit www.stewart.army.mil/services/asap/default.asp.
To learn more information on the "Save a Life" tour, visit savealifetour.com.
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