'Simulator:' Helping Teens Learn Hard Lessons Of The Road

Sean Mullsteff was just 2 miles from his Damascus home when he died this past April. The 19-year-old had not been drinking. But he was speeding when his tire brushed a curb. Causing Sean to over-correct his car and lose control. Yes, speed was a factor say his parents. But so was inexperience.

You hear the word inexperience a lot when it comes to teens and driving. As W*USA 9 News' Emily Schmidt reports, many parents, and even the kids themselves, will tell you Driver's Ed is simply not enough anymore.

"I think about him all the time," Sean Mullsteff's mother, Sue, said.

Sean Mullsteff lived as large as his 6"4' frame; he was a comedian, an athlete, and an irreplaceable part of his family. "The laughter of the house has left. Sean had a way of making all of us laugh. We don't have that....," Perry Mullsteff, his father said.

His mother adds, "It's like one long agonizing day without a beginning or an end."

Weeks after his 19th birthday. "I never got to see Sean because all the air bags had gone off...," his dad recalled. Sean lost control of his car and became one of the statistics. His dad said, "He made a mistake."

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for kids. Fifteen teens die every day because of alcohol and excessive speed, or inexperience behind the wheel.

Two high school students who volunteered to take a "Simulator" for a spin, to show what happens when drivers meet unexpected bumps.

While taking a crack at the Simulator 17-year-old Kyle Mealey successfully cruised for miles, but when the weather conditions crashed so did he. "It's funny that happened to me before...I had been in one accident before...it was the exact thing. It was raining," he said.

As for high school senior Joanna Pinto-Coelho, she mostly dodged the simulated rain and snow covered roads. But then Joanna did something her mother told her never to do, she answered a phone call on her cell phone while she drove. A minute-and-a-half later she crashes. "You shouldn't talk on cell phones," Joanna acknowledged. "Almost a dozen kids have died in the past couple of weeks so I've been more careful. But all the driving that I did well is representative of how I drive," she said.

Simulator owner, Larry Selditz says putting kids in nearly-authentic situations gives them the practice they need for the real road. Practice both these two teens say they did not get before their license.

"I feel like among me and my friends Drivers Ed is a joke," Joanna said.

"I think the only time you can teach your kids in driving is before they get their license....after that, you've pretty much lost them," Kyle adds.

Selditz says this, "If I could offer one piece of advice, drive like your kids' life depended on it." In other words, kids follow their parents' example.

Meanwhile, Perry Mullsteff, who is in charge of Pastoral Care at a Maryland church quit after Sean's death. He has started another ministry of sorts. A foundation to promote defensive driving.

He says, "I would encourage moms and dads don't just send your kids to Driver's Ed and let them get their license."

The Mullsteffs are proponents of Simulators. And having parents in the car for at least the first hundred hours after a kid gets his license. They wonder if it could have made a difference in Sean's life. "It's heartbreaking. So sad. We are losing our greatest resource. Our teenagers," Sue said.

Both Joanna and Kyle say Simulators are not part of Driver's Ed. And they think they should be. As for Larry Selditz he plans to put pay-as-you-go Simulators in the DC area. He also sells black boxes so parents can track kids' every driving movement from their home and work computers.