Virtua Health paramedics are making the rounds of South Jersey high schools to teach young adults about the consequences of drinking and driving with SIDNE (Simulated Impaired DriviNg Experience), a go-cart-type vehicle that simulates the effects of alcohol or drugs on a motorist's driving skills.

"SIDNE simulates what happens when your mind can't control your actions," said Dan Newman, a SouthStar flight paramedic for Virtua who recently demonstrated the device for Burlington County students, in a statement.

"They can usually navigate the course in the regular driving mode, but everything is different when the car is in the impaired mode."

The health provider's goal is to open students' eyes about impaired driving and save lives during prom season, when many alcohol-related crashes involving teen drivers occur. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. Each year, thousands of teenagers are killed or injured in traffic accidents as a result of alcohol consumption.

 In 2006, for example, 7,643 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were involved in fatal traffic accidents across the country, and 18 percent had a blood alcohol level of .08, the legal level of intoxication, or higher.

According to Fatal Vision, the Wisconsin company that manufactures SIDNE, the interactive device has two driving modes. One mimics impairment with delayed braking, steering and acceleration. The other allows teenagers to drive normally, and they can compare their skills between both settings.

SIDNE seats two people and moves up to 8 miles an hour. Drivers operate the vehicle through a course marked by cones, usually in a school parking lot or on a similar surface.

An adult facilitator controls SIDNE's settings and may flip the switch between the two modes at any time. According to a spokesperson for Virtua, which has hospitals in Mount Holly and Evesham, participants in the driver's seat find it significantly more difficult to successfully navigate the course, if they can do it at all.

The simulator recently visited Bordentown Regional High School, and the Virtua team plans to travel with it to other schools around the county, although a set schedule and specific schools have not yet been determined.