January 28, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The program is accessible on mobile devices and computers to meet teens where they are.
This article is the ninth in a series of articles describing how each lesson and 360-degree virtual reality scenario of the Plan My Ride program was strategically designed to help young drivers learn important information and strategies to prevent distracted and impaired driving.
Plan My Ride’s Virtual Reality Scenarios
Following their completion of the initial seven lessons of the Plan My Ride program, young drivers explore three interactive, 360-degree, virtual reality (VR) scenarios. The VR scenarios function as virtual role-play activities that help young drivers practice using the knowledge and skills they have learned throughout the lessons to improve their learning outcomes and become more confident in their decision-making skills for safe driving. Plan My Ride utilizes VR to allow young drivers to practice making decisions in a virtual environment that is realistic and immersive as well as safe and less intimidating than live, in-person role play. Plan My Ride’s VR scenarios can be explored with a VR headset or on a computer or mobile device.
Scenario 2: Life of the Party
The second VR scenario allows young drivers to role-play making decisions as they attend a party. This scenario is designed specifically to help young drivers practice making decisions to avoid driving while impaired by alcohol or cannabis.
Throughout the scenario, the young driver faces several decision points where they can practice using their planning and refusal skills. For example, when invited to the house party, the young driver must plan ahead by deciding if they want to drive themselves or find an alternate ride. At the party, the learner faces three different situations where they must select to consume or refuse alcohol or cannabis. Selecting to refuse the substance gives the learner the chance to practice their refusal skills by choosing one of the refusal skills to use. Once the learner selects to leave the party, they are presented with different options to get home and are given feedback on their choice.
If you are interested in offering the Plan My Ride program to young drivers to prevent impaired and distracted driving, visit https://planmyride.net/ to learn more and get started.