On Wednesday I died. I was selected to be one of the “walking dead” in my high school’s Every 15 Minutes, E15, program. Every 15 Minutes represents the fact that someone is killed in an alcohol related crash every 15 minutes.
I think that for many teens, having your license but also wanting to go to parties can easily turn into the life or death decision of drinking and driving.
E15 is designed to help teenagers understand that they aren’t invincible to the tragedy of a drunk driving accident whether it is them involved or someone they know.
Despite the hard emotions that the crash and video can bring up, having a program that shows and educates students on what it is truly like to experience the death of someone you know in a crash, caused by decisions they personally made, really helps them to visualize the reality of their spur of the moment decisions.
I think that without something like this provided by the school so many teens would maintain the idea that the tragedies that come with drinking and driving would never happen to them.
For me and the other students participating in the program, they truly get to understand the background to the program by walking through what the process would be like if the situation were to be real. This has a bigger impact on the specific students selected because they get to see how the gears turn and understand that it isn’t all about just “having the students die” or “traumatizing kids.”
As someone who was chosen to be a part of the program, I have gotten the privilege to see and
understand why CHP chooses to do this for our school.
Throughout the two days the program took place, we got the opportunity to be taken away from our norm and go places such as the jail and see where someone who has been charged with a DUI, and manslaughter, would suffer the consequences.When I got to go on a tour of the Placer County jail, being able to see how people who have been through the things that E15 is trying to keep us from doing really put into perspective of just how quickly my life or any of my friends lives could be changed.
Even though the effect is already huge just on campus, the CHP goes one step further as to bring the child’s family into the mix. By doing so, I think that it pulls on the hearts of everyone a little bit more seeing how the mock death affects that person’s family.
On November 15, the day of the crash, getting pulled out of class gave me a mix of emotions. Even though I was expecting it, actually seeing the day play out was a lot different than I was imagining it to be
The first night after the crash we stayed the night at a hotel in Roseville and went through group therapy and got to hear a presentation from a woman who actually lost her son to a drunk driver.
After going through the two day experience of being away from my friends and family, coming back the following Thursday there were a lot of emotions that came with thinking about how it would be if I was actually in a situation that led my family to have to say goodbye to me permanently.
I think that if I didn’t agree to participate in E15, I would not have fully understood the reality of the situation the school is trying to warn us about and keep us away from.
Although I understand that not everyone will get to see the program the way the 19 students that were selected were able to, I think that seeing and hearing about how people’s choices led to a life full of regret really helped open my eyes to how real something like this could be. It has led me to make the decision to advocate for others against driving while intoxicated and make sure my friends are safe.
I do understand, and now that I have completely been through the experience, how some people can feel that E15 may be a traumatizing thing for young teens to go see, I am a strong believer that for some of the students at this school the hidden lesson of it is more powerful than just seeing the emotions of the crash and the students in it.
Although some people may not agree that the idea of E15 is entirely productive and, won’t prevent teens from making poor choices, I feel that with the extreme detail taken by incorporating people’s families, l and being given the chance to see how it affects the people in your life, it will make teens more aware of the things they are doing and hopefully make them think twice before getting in that car.
