Cottage Grove
Sentinel
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
EVERY 15 MINUTES
The Grim Reaper pays a visit to Cottage Grove High
School to teach young people about the effects of
driving under the infl uence of alcohol or drugs and
texting while driving.
"Dear Mom and Dad, every fi fteen minutes someone in the United
States dies from an alcohol related traffi c collision, and today I died.
I never had the chance to tell you......."
‘Emotionally charged’ mock car crash gives students unique perspective
Reprinted from the May 11, 2016 Edition
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
he rushing sounds of sirens and
T
horns from emergency vehicles
could be heard from Cottage Grove High
School — always an ominous thing to
hear about. But last week’s sirens left a
positive impression on CGHS students,
as they were part of a mock drunk driving
accident in the school’s back parking lot.
The mock accident is part of a pro-
gram called “Every 15 Minutes,” which
was organized in coordination with the
Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce and aimed
to show the devastation caused by drunk
driving.
The program also implements a simula-
tion of losing students. Leading up to the
crash, someone dressed as the grim reaper
would walk into any given classroom and
pick a student to be essentially deceased.
A police offi cer would then present an
obituary written by that student’s parents
to the class that they were in.
“It’s an attempt to give students a simu-
lated experience of what it could be like,”
retired Sergeant Kevin Woodworth said.
Woodworth acted as one of the leading
coordinators of the entire event.
Before the crash, the whole student
body assembled in the main gym to hear
a few words from Woodworth and Princi-
pal Iton Udosenata.
“Outside you’ll see exactly how emer-
gency personnel respond to these situ-
ations,” Woodworth explained. Wood-
worth also acknowledged the students
who had been “chosen” by the grim reap-
er, who were dressed in black cloaks, rep-
resented the real amount of people that
died around the country in the time lead-
ing up to the mock crash.
When the students fl ooded out back to
the parking lot, they saw what appeared
to be two cars totaled after a head-on col-
lision and several student-actors lying in-
jured in each vehicle.
The program spares no expense. The
cars were completely smashed with
windows
shattered,
glass litter-
ing the fl oor
and blood
sprayed
over wind-
shields and
windows.
The scene
seemed like
a very well
done movie
set, which it
technically
was as these
mock
ac-
cidents are
fi lmed and
made into
videos.
After start-
ing off with
a blood-cur-
dling scream
by the con-
scious driv-
er, emergen-
cy vehicle
came speed-
ing in from
a distance.
State and local police responded along
with South Lane Fire and Rescue, and a
helicopter was even fl own in to airlift an
injured passenger.
The driver, who was left with only a
few cuts and bruises, failed a sobriety test
and was subsequently arrested for a DUII.
One student lay motionless as if dead and
coroners arrived to carry the “dead body”
away.
This mock car crash is meant to instill
a sense of fear in the student body and
was described by South Lane Fire and
Rescue as “an emotionally charged event
designed to dramatically instill in teenag-
ers the realization of the potentially dan-
gerous consequences of drinking alcohol
and texting while driving.”
Alcohol and drugs impair driving ability in many ways
M
illions of people die each year due
to alcohol- and drug-related motor
vehicle accidents. Many people simply
do not realize how much alcohol and
drugs affect one's ability to operate a
motor vehicle. Many more may mistak-
enly feel they won't be among the many
people who cause injuries to themselves
or others when operating a vehicle in
an impaired state. Drugs, whether they
are illegal or legal, can impair a person's
motor skills, leading to accidents.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention says almost 30 people in
the United States die each day in motor
vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-
impaired driver. That equates to 1 death
every 48 minutes. Many other accidents
and fatalities can be traced back to other
substances, whether legal or illegal. Us-
ing drugs such as marijuana and cocaine
can be linked to roughly 20 percent of
motor vehicle driver deaths in the United
States. Compounding the problem is that
these drugs are often used in conjunction
with alcohol.
MADD estimates that a minimum of
1,074 fatalities in 2009 could be attribut-
ed to impairment-related driving in that
country. Moreover, it is also estimated
that 63,338 were injured in alcohol- and
drug-related crashes the same year.
What is BAC?
BAC, or blood-alcohol concentration,
measures the amount of milligrams of
alcohol that is in 100 milliliters of blood.
Each drink a person consumes increases
his or her BAC.
The legal BAC varies all over the world.
Some countries have a zero-tolerance
policy, while in Canada and much of the
United States the legal limit is .08 per-
cent. That means anything more than 80
milligrams of alcohol is punishable.
But a person can still suffer side effects
of alcohol consumption if their BAC is
below the legal limit. Between .03 and
.06 a person may experience mild eu-
phoria, trouble concentrating, a relaxed
feeling, talkativeness and decreased
inhibition. Between .06 and .08, feel-
ings may be dulled, peripheral vision can
decrease, and drivers may have poorer
depth perception and struggle to recover
from glare.
Drugs that impair driving
Using drugs can also make it hard to
safely operate a motor vehicle. Many
drugs can affect the body in ways that
make it dangerous to drive.
A person may not think they are driving
under the infl uence after taking a cold
or allergy pill. However, many of these
pills can impair driving ability because
they tend to cause drowsiness.
Drugs that act on the brain, such as psy-
choactive drugs, antidepressants, sleep-
ing medications, and anti-anxiety drugs,
can impair reaction time, judgment and
motor skills. Most medications that can
prove dangerous while driving will carry
a warning label that advises against driv-
ing or operating heavy machinery.
Illegal drugs have their own share of
negative effects. Research indicates that
marijuana is one of the most prevalent
illegal drugs detected in individuals
fatally injured in driving accidents. The
Emergency Medical Services Authority
says marijuana can cause reduced con-
centration, diffi culty perceiving time and
distance, poor speed control, inability to
read signs, drowsiness, and distraction.
Cocaine can mask fatigue and impair a
person's ability to concentrate. Impul-
sive behaviors can lead to risk-taking.
Some research suggests that antagonistic
effects can be produced when cocaine is
mixed with alcohol.
The EMSA says the use of amphet-
amines can interfere with concentration,
impair vision and increase the driver's
willingness to take risks.
It is better to err on the side of caution
and avoid the use of any drugs or alcohol
if you plan to be driving. No one wants
to cope with the emotional, fi nancial and
legal ramifi cations that can occur should
an accident leading to injury or fatality
occur.