On January 30, representatives from Mercedes, along with Campolindo parent Garret Sanderson, put on automobile safety presentations in the sophomore PE classes. The presentations included lectures and stories, and an array of graphic movie clips.
“Our goal for these videos was to encourage our new drivers to develop good driving habits and be safe behind the wheel at all times. We want to make sure that we as a school are doing all we can to keep our students safe,” PE teacher Bob Wilson explained. “I think the presentations were very effective and we have many thanks to Tim and Garett for coming in and donating their time,” Wilson continued.
Tim Lowery, an engineer for Mercedes Benz, handles a lot of the post crash analysis for their vehicles. He was thrilled when presented with the opportunity to help new young drivers. “When they called me and asked me if I would do the presentation, I was more than happy to. I enjoy teaching new drivers safe driving practices so we can help keep the roads safer in the future. It is important that these kids develop good habits at a young age, so they will stick with them as they grow older,” Lowery said.
The presentations, which took up all of the 50 minute periods, consisted largely of stories from Lowery’s personal experiences with crash analysis. To compliment his stories, Lowery showed video clips, many of which overwhelmed the audience.
“It was just too much for me,” sophomore Andrew Zolintakis said. “A lot of people in my class had to get up and walk out of the room because they just could not watch the videos anymore,” he continued.
Many clips showed real-life car accidents, and contained a lot of blood and gore. The videos seemed to have a lasting effect on the audience.
“The videos were really eye-opening and I will definitely be more aware of my driving from now on,” sophomore Natalie Meniktas said.
“We were hoping these videos would help kids realize the dangers of driving, and therefore we believe the presentations were very effective, and hopefully I can continue coming to Campolindo in the future. The kids were fantastic and I had a great time,” Lowery said.