State Fair Exhibit A Wake-Up Call For Distracted Drivers

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Most of the things to do at the Minnesota State Fair are fun and entertaining, but there are other features that aim to teach you a lesson.

Nina Moini visited an interactive exhibit that serves as a wakeup call for Minnesotans about the dangers of distracted driving.

The Reality Rides exhibit will be on the corner of Wright and Cooper Streets near Baldwin Park this Tuesday, and is presented by Allstate Insurance Company.

As exhibit organizer Meghan O'Kelly told Moini, Reality Rides is a driving simulator that has a curved LED television in front of a stationary vehicle's windshield.

While taking a mock spin in the vehicle, visitors are asked to attempt to text or talk on their phone and try to keep their vehicle on the road and avoid a crash.

O'Kelly said that, while texting and driving gets a number of headlines, drivers can find themselves distracted by any number of things, such as noisy or rowdy passengers or the act of putting on makeup while driving.

Reality Rides drivers will be given faux traffic tickets at the end of their experience to let them know what sort of violations they could've been cited for had they been driving the same way in real life.