Utica, NY
The Save a Life Tour is the cash cow brainchild of Kramer Entertainment, Inc., “The Nations Leader in High-Tech Entertainment and Attractions.”
Kramer Entertainment is a full service agency providing high-tech, crowd gathering entertainment and attractions to colleges, universities, corporate events, conventions and places of business. Attractions include drunk driving simulation and awareness programs, full-motion NASCAR simulators, live acts, interactive events, games shows and much more. Kramer Entertainment is located in Grand Rapids, MI and has been in business since 1949.
Kramer rakes in a per event charge of about $5,000, but that’s not all. They also shamelessly go after corporate sponsorship money, including paid product placement in the simulation. Still can’t afford the $5k charge, don’t worry. Kramer provides information on funding possibilities to help pay their fee.
The Save a Life Tour visits over 250 locations annually. That’s $1,250,000 per year in event fees. Not bad for a traveling video game. One only can imagine how much more Kramer is collects in corporate sponsorship fees.
The DWI industry is just that. It’s an industry.
Utica College junior Andrew Demyan was swerving all over the road Monday afternoon. He barely missed hitting a woman on the sidewalk as he over corrected after turning down a street.“I felt like I was driving drunk,” the 21-year-old said after he stepped out of a drunk driving simulator set up in the student center of the college. “I’m definitely going to throw my keys at people when I drink.”
The simulator was part of the Save A Life Tour that stopped at the college Monday for six hours to show students the consequences of drinking and driving.
Brian Beldyga, cofounder of the Save a Life Tour, said the program is designed to grab students at different levels. There is “the shock factor” of an open casket, the more than 30-foot simulator and screens, Beldyga’s speaking and videos showing victims of DWI crashes.
Nine-and-a-half years ago, Beldyga watched his fiancee die after a 19-year-old who had consumed three beers hit the car they were in.
While Beldyga wasn’t drinking that night, he said before that he had gotten behind the wheel “maybe 1,800 times” after drinking.
“I thought I was the exception to the rule,” he said.
Since then, he has toured the country hoping that someone who sees the presentation or drives in the simulator may someday take the keys away from a drunken friend.
“This is for the friend that knows it’s bad,” he said. “Maybe something they learn here will make them say ‘I’ll take the keys.’”
The simulator was sponsored by the Inter-Greek Council to help curb drinking and driving over spring break next week.
“We were looking for something different,” said Maureen Murphy, council advisor and assistant director of student activities. “This has the best shock factor and is real and in your face.”
In the more than nine years Beldyga has been doing the tour, he said he has never met anyone who admits to driving while drunk.“They never cop to being drunk while driving,” Beldyga said. “Drunk to them is vomiting and you can’t say your own name. But we know it’s a problem. If you have one drink, you’re affected.”
Senior Matt Falso, 22, said he enjoyed the presentation.
“It’s a good tool to encourage people not to drink and drive,” he said. “I’m going to head back to the dorms and grab a couple of people to see it.”