HAZLETON, Pa. — Some students at the Hazleton Area Career Center don't have a driver's license yet, but they're getting behind the wheel anyway, to learn about the dangers of driving under the influence.
"Don't drive while being drunk, just don't drive or else you will pay the consequences," said sophomore Thomas.
Those choices can have big consequences in real life.
That's why "Arrive Alive Tours" stops at schools across the nation.
This week it's working with Hazleton Area.
Students got a lesson on what it's like to drive drunk or high by wearing special virtual reality goggles.
"It was lowkey kind of hard, it was like swerving really hard you couldn't control it. It was blurry it was dizzy, the lights were shining really bright. I couldn't see really good and that's why I crashed into the taxi driver," explained freshman Anthony Familia.
"It was pretty weird, especially being drunk, because I was seeing cars that weren't there," said Thomas.
A lesson that's extra important every day of the year, but especially timely ahead of prom season.
"We want to let them know that it's not just affecting you, you can affect family members. There's mothers, fathers, children in those cars, and making a bad decision can affect so much more than themselves," said Shaquille Hill with Arrive Alive Tours.
After their time behind the wheel, students are given a citation for their traffic offenses.
"I was swerving driving below-posted speed, driving on the incorrect side of the road, failing to stop," said sophomore Gina Gad.
"If that was real life, I'd probably would have been injured really bad, driving under the influence is not good,"
The "Arrive Alive" simulation will make stops at other schools in the Hazleton Area School District later this week.