Students show drive to stay away from drugs

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Student Brittani Van Stoy, 14, wears vision distorting glasses to push a tricycle through a cone course at La Canada High School to simulate driving while intoxicated on Thursday, October 25, 2012. (Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

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Student Brandon Newquist, 17, puts on the vision distorting goggles at La Canada High School where students experienced the distorted vision of driving a tricycle intoxicated on Thursday, October 25, 2012. (Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

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Hunter Pao, 14, runs with vision distorting glasses with encouragement from mixed-martial arts prize fighter Daniel Puder at La Canada High School where students experienced the distorted vision of driving a tricycle intoxicated on Thursday, October 25, 2012. (Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

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La Canada High School students gather during their lunch period for a demonstration of how bad drunk driving is with demonstrations like wearing glasses that distorts vision and driving a tricycle on a coned course on Thursday, October 25, 2012. (Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

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Kenton Duty, 17, of Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up” talks with senior Veronika Marshall, 17, through the windows of an NHRA race car dressed up as a police car at La Canada High School where students experienced the distorted vision of driving a tricycle intoxicated on Thursday, October 25, 2012. (Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

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Kenton Duty, 17, of Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up!” wears vision distorting glasses to push a tricycle through a cone course at La Canada High School to simulate driving while intoxicated on Thursday, October 25, 2012. (Tim Berger/Staff Photographer)

Oct. 26, 2012 5:54 PM PT

Local high school students got a whole new perspective on driving while intoxicated during their lunch period Thursday, as many donned vision-distorting glasses for a tricycle ride that demonstrated how hard it is to operate a vehicle when you can’t see straight.

The event was part of Red Ribbon Week, an annual substance-abuse awareness effort launched after the violent 1985 death of Drug Enforcement Agency member Enrique “Kiki” Camarena at the hands of drug thugs in Mexico. Many people have pledged to live drug-free in Camarena’s honor.

-- Bill Kisliuk, Times Community News

Twitter: @bkisliuk