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Santa Helps NJ Officials Teach About Dangers of Distracted Driving

By Mark Abrams

VOORHEES, N.J. (CBS) -- The head of New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission visited a South Jersey mall today to drive home the message that distracted driving, especially at this time of year, can be costly.

MVC commissioner and chief administrator Raymond Martinez sat in front of a big-screen TV, manipulating a plastic steering wheel and operating the distracted-driver computer simulator (alongside the Voorhees Town Center's Santa Claus) as curious shoppers stopped to watch.

Martinez (below) says the idea of putting someone behind the simulator is to illustrate how simple distractions or impairments can affect their driving.

 

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(NJ MVC commissioner Ray Martinez. Credit: Mark Abrams)

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"As they're driving on the simulator, we'll add the 'drunk googles' that simulates having two or three drinks, and then we give them a phone to start texting while they're doing it. And it doesn't work out well," he notes wryly.

Martinez and a New Jersey state trooper spoke with shoppers about the need to put down their phones and to limit their alcohol consumption if they're getting behind the wheel during the holidays.

 

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