Volume 2, No. 1. January 11, 2002
Sobering experience
Most go-kart operators shudder at
the thought of a group of teen-agers driving over their courses while intoxicated.
Fun Spot Action Park in Orlando, Florida, not only welcomes them, it invites
them in free.
It is part of a community outreach program Fun Spot conducts for local schools,
coordinating with the Florida Highway Patrol. The program uses a special pair
of goggles that emulate the mental condition of a person who has just consumed
four beers within an hour. Fun Spot sets up signs and other obstacles on its
flat track, and after a state trooper re-enacts a DUI arrest for the students
and discredits old wives' tales about beating sobriety tests, the teens take
the wheel of the karts and navigate the course while wearing the goggles.
"At the time, all of them think they're doing great," said Fun Spot President
and Owner John Arie. "But when we show them the video, we show them they didn't
do as great as they thought." Arie himself can attest to the goggles' effectiveness,
which he purchased a year ago from Amusement Products in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Comparing them with his "youthful experience," he said, "You don't have the
buzz, but you have the disorientation. When I did it I knew I didn't hit anything.
I was proud of myself. Then they showed me the video tape, and I hit many things."
After forming a partnership with the Highway Patrol, Arie approached the schools,
bringing out a group of teachers to try the program. They became his biggest
champions, but "the schools haven't jumped on it as hard as I expected," he
said, citing administration trepidation over field trips in general. Nevertheless,
he averaged three programs a month in the first year, with some teachers using
their own resources to bring groups of teens to the park.
Arie finds the best audience for the program comprises ages 14 to 18. "Once
they get to 16, they get a drivers license and they get cocky," he said.
"For maybe 10 percent of kids over 16, it's more of a game than a true
experience. For kids under 16, it's 100 percent effective: they are very involved,
and the program is very impactful."
Because only eight students can take on the course at one time, the rest of
the group often play in Fun Spot's arcade or other attractions until it's their
turn to drive. Some groups also eat lunch at the family entertainment center.
Otherwise, the park makes no profit from the program. "It enlightens the kids
to our presence," Arie said. "They've heard of Fun Spot but never been out here,
didn't know how big it is and all the activities we have, so it's a great marketing
tool from that point of view." His primary motivation, however, is "give back
to the community."
For that reason, his favorite aspect of the program is watching the highway
patrolmen interact with the kids. "They spend 15 to 20 minutes with the kids
and create one to-one relationships. One guy is phenomenal. He works 10 p.m.
to 6 a.m. (22,00 to 06,00), gets a couple hours of sleep and comes down at 10:30
(10,30) to do this, and we can't pay him. We offer him things, and he won't
take it. It makes me appreciative whenever a Highway Patrol car goes by."