Whitecourt students on-site of a mock-accident scene

By Laura Bohnert

The Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.) program is changing the meaning of partying for Whitecourt students. With programs like the mock accident scene that are designed to increase awareness about drinking responsibly, the P.A.R.T.Y. program is making a big impact.

On Thursday April 27, the P.A.R.T.Y. program put on a lifelike mock-emergency scene to show students what can happen when you make the wrong decision following a night of partying.

Grade nine students from Whitecourt attended, witnessing a lifelike and real-time accident scene.

Tina Prodaniuk, Whitecourt crime prevention coordinator, explains that mock scenes like this one are a necessary way to capture attention and make an impact on today’s youth.

“I think that our youth today need to have something kind of spectacular to get their attention, and I think we’ve done just that,” she explains, adding that, during the scene, the students “get to see police, fire, and ambulance respond to a call.”

“It is very real,” she stresses, “and they don’t even slow it down. You see response times and you see the real-life impact of decisions.”

The reality of the scene makes it much more impacting, and that impact is important when it comes to ensuring students are paying attention to the message: don’t drive home after a night of partying and drinking; plan to catch a ride with a designated driver, or call a parent or family member to come pick you up instead.

Students may be hesitant about making that call if they think they might get into trouble for drinking, but the alternative possibility is significantly worse.

Statistics show that every day, an average of four Canadians are killed and 175 are injured in impairment-related crashes, and according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada, 16- to 25-year-olds constituted almost 33.4 per cent of impairment-related traffic deaths in 2010 alone.

Teens are at a particular risk of impaired driving crashes, MADD explains, not because they are more likely to drink and drive, but because their lack of experience in both driving and drinking puts them at a higher risk.

Alcohol impairs judgement, hand-eye coordination, the ability to focus, and the ability to see and think clearly. It also impairs the ability to recognize and respond to hazardous road conditions. As a result, those who drink and drive are not only more likely to be involved in a collision than a sober driver, but they are also more likely to be involved in a fatal collision.

Statistics presented by MADD Canada show that, by the time a driver reaches a blood alcohol content of .10 per cent, he or she is already 51 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash.

MADD Canada also stresses that drug-impaired driving is on the rise because many consider driving under the influence of drugs like cannabis to be risk-free.

The P.A.R.T.Y. program aims to use presentations like the mock-accident scene to increase awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence—of either drugs or alcohol—in the hopes that that awareness can help save the lives of Whitecourt’s youth.

This year’s event marks the 17^th year of the P.A.R.T.Y. program and the fourth year of the accident scene recreation presentation.

For more information about the P.A.R.T.Y. program, visit partyprogram.com.