ROCK SPRINGS – Just how difficult is it to drive drunk? A visit to the Wyoming Highway Patrol’s pedal kart track at Wyoming’s Big Show can clear that question up without the risk of injury, death, or an appearance on SweetwaterNOW’s daily Sweetwater County Detention Center roster.
The track is located near the front of the Exhibit Hall at the Sweetwater County Events Complex and challenges visitors to not only navigate a curvy course but follow traffic signs while wearing a set of goggles that replicate a person’s vision while they’re drunk. Stephanie Harsha, the senior public relations specialist for the Wyoming Department of Transportation District 3 said two groups have so far been the most surprised when taking on the challenge: adults who drink and young teens who will start learning to drive soon.
Harsha said adults often don’t know how much alcohol can impair someone’s driving and how it slows reaction times. Many who navigated the course struggled to stop when coming upon a stop sign. A few collided with the sign itself. Harsha said the pedal kart can stop a lot faster than a full motorized vehicle, which has driven the point that the slowed reaction times in a kart are only magnified in a vehicle.
“You don’t realize it when you’re in the moment,” she said.
Teens starting the track were laughing and giggling when starting their run but quickly discovered how difficult it is to keep their kart between the lines while navigating the course. Harsha said the moment teens put the goggles on is an enlightening moment that illustrates the impact alcohol can have.
Trooper Clancy Gines said drunk driving is a major problem in Sweetwater County.
“It’s one of the biggest problems we run into,” he said.
Gines said more than 80% of crashes in 2024 involving serious injuries and death in Wyoming can be attributed to impaired driving. He said while some people assume they’re okay to drive after drinking, many more simply assume they won’t get caught by law enforcement. Gines said people who have a blood alcohol concentration under the legal limit of .08 can still have their driving impacted by alcohol. Gines hopes people can see how dangerous impaired driving can be for not only drivers but their families and others.
“It kills people, it harms families, it ruins lives,” he said.
