Event drives home dangers of drunk, distracted driving

A portion of Newhall Avenue was transformed into a staged accident scene Thursday as students from Hart High School came face-to-face with the potential consequences of driving while intoxicated or distracted.

The “Every 15 Minutes” event — named for the time period that passes between each alcohol-related death resulting from a collision — was a day-long exercise in theater aimed at deeply influencing the teens’ behavior.

Starting at 8 a.m., individual students were pulled out of class. A message announced over the school’s intercom a student had “died” — all part of the production.

Announcements such as these were made every 15 minutes, according to Deputy Deanna Santino with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

The designated “walking dead,” as Santino called them, had their faces painted and walked around campus without talking the rest of the day.

Perhaps the climax of the production was a staged car crash on Newhall Avenue at which one students played casualties and one was “arrested” as the alleged drunken driver.

Officials from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, Los Angeles County Fire Department, city of Santa Clarita and Hart High School partnered to stage the traffic collision.

The event continues Friday with an assembly at Hart High School featurting guest speakers who have had family members die in crashes in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Funding for the program comes from the city of Santa Clarita, the California Highway Patrol and the California Office of Traffic Safety.

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Event drives home dangers of drunk, distracted driving

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	Posted: February 21, 2013 6:15 p.m. Updated: February 21, 2013 6:15 p.m.


	ohhyaa: Posted: February 21, 2013 9:51 p.m. Many of us have kids who have participated in prior years. They actually take the "wounded" to Henry Mayo and the "dead" to the morgue. They also keep the "dead and wounded" out of school the following day, on home study. Even though it is a re-enactment the kids sob, even boys. RatmanG: Posted: February 21, 2013 10:38 p.m. This impacted me once a long time ago. It was not this intense, but it hit home. I believe if these things save even one life, they are worth all the time, and every penny spent. tacalert: Posted: February 22, 2013 12:08 a.m. I would love to bring them to a real DUI crash scene where there is real blood and real dead bodies. Lot more gruesome (sp?) then the staged event, which still brings some reality. DMeyer: Posted: February 22, 2013 1:19 a.m. What a great idea, anything that makes kids think about the consequences of poor decision making is worth it. whataplace: Posted: February 22, 2013 10:35 a.m. My daughters took part in one several years ago at Saugus High. It really brought home the dangers of DUI's and speeding. It was also hard on the parents who were supposed to write an obituary for their kid who was killed. I found that too difficult but you can sure bet I kept a close eye on them when they did drive. My kids were not allowed to have a driver’s license until they were 18. I think a lot of 16 year old kids should not be driving. Even the responsible ones are still kids and make mistakes. I just did not want a mistake to cost my kid their life. Bdeezine: Posted: February 22, 2013 11:27 a.m. My kids all went through this at Hart High and it affected them all pretty profoundly. This is a unique way to drive the point home by putting a "face" on DUI deaths and very effective in my opinion. My kids told me that there were plenty of tears shed, especially considering this was all a reenactment. sreilly11: Posted: February 22, 2013 12:05 p.m. Funding for the program comes from the city of Santa Clarita, the California Highway Patrol and the California Office of Traffic Safety. Money well spent in my opinion!!! I'd support more programs like this.....use the DUI checkpoint funds to expand the program ?!?!? chefgirl358: Posted: February 23, 2013 10:36 a.m. Whataplace, you're so right about driving age! A neighbor family has kids in their 20's that shouldn't be driving!


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