Every 15 Minutes teaches drunk driving dangers

Michaela Harris, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
Updated ·3 min read

Mar. 21—Crashed vehicles and bloodied bodies strewn over Nicolaus Road were only demonstrations for East Nicolaus High School students, but a reality for those injured or killed in a drunk driving incident.

Between March 2 and 3, East Nicolaus High School partnered with local law enforcement and public safety agencies to simulate a collision scene as part of the Every 15 Minutes program. This two-day program was created to expose high school students to the real-life dangers of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

It's named after a statistic from 1990 which reported that someone in the United States dies from an alcohol-related collision every 15 minutes. As of 2020, a death related to drunken driving occurs every 45 minutes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Officials with California Highway Patrol said that Every 15 Minutes challenges them to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the responsibility of making mature decisions and the impact their decisions have on family, friends and their community.

The high school previously held an Every 15 Minutes demonstration each year, but the event in early March marked the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paraeducator and career technical education teacher for East Nicolaus High Teena Earhart believes that integrating Every 15 Minutes fosters proactive education about drunken or reckless driving among young people.

"Our goal was to utilize the strength, talent and resources of our community to help with the success of the event. The event was an amazing success and we could not have done so well without the many contributions of our community members," Earhart said.

East Nicolaus High School staff members, community members, California Highway Patrol, East Nicolaus and Pleasant Grove fire departments, Sutter County Sheriff's Office, Adventist Health Rideout Trauma Center, Yuba-Sutter Trauma Intervention Program and other local agencies coordinated to bring the Every 15 Minutes demonstration to life.

Around 31 students were involved in the demonstration with student leads Corryn Hintz and Audrey Gillespie assisting in the planning.

"We wanted to make sure that everyone, all of the students involved in the accident scene and all of that was on the same page and that everyone knew what was going on at all times. That was a lot of what we did. We relayed information to the kids that were involved," Hintz said.

On the first day of the program, students are introduced to a collision scene featuring fellow students and emergency personnel. These students were pulled out of class every 15 minutes by the Grim Reaper, played by community member Gerald Odor, Earhart said. A mock funeral is held for the students who "died" in the collision during an assembly the following day.

After the first school day, the students attend an overnight retreat, which Earhart said represents the separation one feels from friends and family after a death. Students were required to write letters to their family members to read out during the mock funeral, beginning with "Dear Mom and Dad, every 15 minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcohol related traffic collision, and today I died. I never had the chance to tell you ..."

"I've had a lot of people say it was really impactful for them, especially after the assembly on the second day. People said it was really eye opening to see the effects of what drunk driving can do," Gillespie said.

Guest speakers are also invited to the assembly each year to talk about the impact drunken or reckless driving has on the community. This year Lori Bergenstock from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and California Highway Patrol Officer Kyle Danielson spoke to students about drinking, driving, personal safety, and responsibility.

"It's important for us to continually educate the students about the consequences of making that choice to get into a car intoxicated. That's a choice that they make. We as adults are mentoring, so they look at what we're doing and we need to lead by example as well," Earhart said.