The Arcola School’s Students Against Drinking and Driving (SADD) are hosting an educational day on Wednesday, April 29, through a Preventing Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.) program which promotes youth to make smart life choices.
At 9 a.m. the students will gather at Prairie Place Hall and will be briefed about the day, which can be extremely emotional for some, as a mock car crash will be set up in the grassy area just northwest of Prairie Place which the students will watch between 9:30 and 10:15.
This will include sirens and emergency personnel in the area including EMS, RCMP, as well as Fire and Rescue. The scene being created will be very realistic, but it is emphasized this is only a mock crash used to help educate grade 10 to 12 students about the seriousness of being behind the wheel.
Not only does the mock crash bring emergency services together to help for the day, but people the students know will take on roles within the crash. This may include the driver, passengers, and others involved in the crash.
Their last mock crash, held in 2012, was set up with a driver who had been texting veering off and hitting someone on a bicycle. Students then watched as emergency services worked together. The cyclist was killed on scene in the scenario and the driver was arrested by RCMP.
It was impactful and because of the importance of educating youth, showing them that their decisions behind the wheel affect more than themselves, the Arcola SADD group hosts the P.A.R.T.Y. program every three years, the first having been held in 2009.
“Each time we’ve hosted this it has been very effective,” Auldene Craig, the event organizer, explained. “It’s hard to determine the results because you’re determining if you’ve prevented someone from drinking and driving or getting into a car crash, but the information the students gain is valuable and it raises awareness about the consequences of drinking and driving or distracted driving like being on their phones or eating, anything that takes their attention away from the road, can be dangerous.”
Following the mock crash, students will be debriefed and the day will continue until 3 p.m. as they follow the path of an injury survivor. In smaller groups they will attend sessions focused on the efforts of EMS/Fire and Rescue, RCMP, the emergency room, as well as rehabilitation efforts after a serious injury.
Students will also have lunch at Prairie Place where they will experience “Lunch with an Injury.” Here students will be given a buffet style lunch and will have to dish up their plates and sit down to eat all while having a simulated “disability.” This may include being blindfolded to simulate blindness or having a sock taped around their fist to simulate an amputation of their limb.
This is done to show students how simple tasks can become difficult and that various tasks people do everyday can be taken for granted.
A guest speaker will also attend in the afternoon to talk to the students about their personal experiences of being involved in a car crash.
The program is held in hopes of reaching youth who often think they are invincible and to show them that even if they have been fine behind the wheel that their “luck” will run out. Choosing not to get in a vehicle with someone who has been drinking or asking someone to put their phone down while behind the wheel are necessary to ensure the safety of yourself and others.
According to P.A.R.T.Y. research, 90 percent of all injuries sustained are preventable.
