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Distracted Driving on Display at State Fair
Go ahead, text while driving! But only at a simulation at the Illinois State Police demonstration tent at the Illinois State Fair.

The simulator includes three computer screens, a steering wheel, and brake and gas pedals. A trooper guides the demonstration, telling teenagers, or any other willing participant, when to start texting, "I'm running late," and "What's for dinner?"

One teenager, Teagan Cutright, 16, of Petersburg, got behind the wheel and tried to drive while texting. She kept saying, "Oh no," as the simulated car swerved into oncoming lanes or onto the shoulder. When she was done, the trooper listed more than a dozen problems with her driving, as tracked by the simulator. Cutright says she's been too afraid to text while driving during the three months that she's had her license. She says the simulator would be good in driver's education classes to bring the point home.

The new law that bans texting while driving has resulted in 301 tickets and 315 warnings since January written by state police. That does not include numbers for local police.

(Illinois Radio Network)
08 17 10 by Newsroom
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