Wednesday, Feb. 21, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Having plowed into a row of parked cars and run over a couple kids, Robert Leavell laughed.
"It's awesome," the Green Valley High School senior said, unclipping his seat belt and opening the door of what Chrysler Corp. hopes will reduce the number of drunken drivers on America's roads.
The brain child of the company is the Dodge Neon Drunk Driving simulator -- a compact car equipped with an on-board computer that demonstrates for sober drivers the effects of driving drunk.
About 1,700 students from Green Valley, Basic, Cheyenne and Boulder City high schools have a chance to take it for a spin as drivers or passengers this week along a 150- by 200-foot area complete with orange traffic cones and pop-up dummies.
By entering the driver's weight and a hypothetical number of drinks consumed in an hour, a ride-along instructor was able to program the laptop computer to minimize the car's braking and steering ability.
Leavell couldn't believe how much a few drinks would likely impair his reflexes.
"I've only drank once in my life, but I know now I'm not going to drive," the senior said. The instructor had randomly plugged in that the 170-pound boy had consumed five drinks in the past hour, giving him a probable 0.10 intoxication -- the legal limit in Nevada.
The Simulator will be in town till Thursday afternoon, then will continue its trek around the country visiting other high schools.
More than 140,000 people in more than 150 cities have participated in the Simulator program since Chrysler rolled its first modified car into a demonstration.
The first was a Dodge Daytona; the most recent, a Neon. Wear and tear limits the cars to about a two-year life span, Chrysler representatives said.
The Neon cost about $15,000 to build, a drop in the bucket if it saves a life.
"That's the whole point," said Randy Howell, Henderson Fire Department battalion chief. "We want kids to know the dangerous effects of drinking and driving, and with that knowledge we hope to save lives."
National statistics show that nearly 50 percent of all fatal accidents have been linked to intoxicated drivers, and about a third of those fatalities involved people under age 25.
Howell led the effort to bring the Simulator to Las Vegas. The department had received a $17,000 grant for a Jaws of Life tool, which is used to cut victims out of smashed cars.
The conditions of the grant mandated that the department develop an educational program for students about drunken driving; hence, the Simulator's role.
Howell contacted Chapman Dodge of Las Vegas, which eventually became an event sponsor along with Stop DUI, Henderson Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol.
"It was a major eye opener for me," said Chapman's Hugh Clark.
"As big as I am, at 6 foot 4, 300 pounds, to get behind the wheel and not be in control is scary."
The instructor had geared the car to respond as if Clark had imbibed 12 drinks in an hour, which would yield about a 0.13 percent blood alcohol concentration.
"I ran over cones and hit a kid," Clark said of the pop-up dummy. But the best part would come today, he said, when the Simulator was scheduled to travel to Cheyenne High School where his 15-year-old daughter is a student.
"She's not old enough to drive, so she'll only get to ride as a passenger. I've seen how angry people have no control when they drive through our neighborhood, and it worries me. I want her to know what a drunken driver can do."
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