On Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 11 and 12, all Dexter Regional High School students will participate in a field sobriety test conducted by the Maine State Police, the Dexter Police Department, and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department.

"It’s an opportunity for kids to realize what their sobriety is like and what their balance is like under the effects of alcohol," Steve Spaulding, Tri-County Technical Center instructor, said Friday.

Students in the Criminal Justice Program have already been through the program and will assist Spaulding during the event. Spaulding said the students will wear Fatal Vision Goggles to give them a view of what it is like to drive under the influence. These specially designed and manufactured goggles simulate the visual impairment caused by alcohol or other drugs. The wearer experiences a loss of equilibrium, which is one of the effects of intoxication, according to Spaulding.

After similar programs in past years, Spaulding said students have told him that the program and the view behind the goggles was "eye-opening."

The Tri-County Technical Center educates students from Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford, Penquis Valley High School in Milo, and Dexter Regional High School.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Saturday, December 09, 2006 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."