PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) website, for every 140 miles driven in Colorado in 1996, a legally intoxicated person (Blood Alcohol Count >.10) sat behind the wheel. During that year an estimated 29,700 crashes in Colorado involved alcohol – killing 244 and injuring approximately 26,000 people.

According to the Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance, Colorado ranks above the national median for rates of chronic and binge drinking and risk of drinking and driving. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science - Hall of Life’s (HOL) multi-age programs on alcohol and impaired driving provide age-appropriate activities that specifically target these areas to prevent drunk driving.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the project was to increase public awareness and education for adults and students about the risk of impaired driving by providing the following:

• classes on alcohol and drug prevention to elementary through high school students;
• health education displays designed to reach middle and high school students;
• impaired driving displays designed to reach college students;
• a traveling display that would be viewed by citizens throughout area communities;
• attract visitors to the Hall of Life’s exhibit carts and drunk driving simulators; and
• continue to support prevention programs for high risk counties in rural Colorado.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

The HOL program consisted of four main activities: classes, health fairs, exhibits, and programs geared towards rural communities.

Classes: In Playing it Safe (grades K-1), students are introduced to identifying and avoiding dangerous situations. The Drugs and Kids class (grades 2-3) provides activities that simulate the effects of substance abuse and information about good decision-making. Gateway Drugs (grades 4-5) focuses on the four gateway drugs. Students view drug-damaged organs and discuss consequences of drugged driving. Drugwise (grades 6-12) is designed to expose students to the consequences of drinking (including graphic photos) and raise awareness about responsibility associated with decisions and drugs.

Health Fairs: The College Health Fair Display is designed to increase awareness about the impact of alcohol on health and consequences of drinking on college campuses. An interactive CD ROM program allows student to explore the reality of how blood-alcohol levels can affect driving. The Adult Health Fair Display, which is used at corporate and community events, emphasizes the effects of legal and illegal drugs. Specimens and graphic displays highlight the dangers of use and abuse.

Hall of Life Exhibits: The HOL Education Cart and the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Simulators offer education on alcohol awareness and impaired driving prevention. The portable cart is staffed by volunteers and features many hands-on activities including DUI glasses that simulate how eyesight can be impaired by alcohol.

Rural Communities: The HOL educators brought programs and fairs to people that are seldom exposed to this type of education because of financial or geographic barriers.

RESULTS

During the last year, the HOL Impaired Driving Prevention Programs exceeded all but one of its goals:

• K - 12^th grade classes: 490 classes with 11,709 participants (GOAL: 7,000)
• Middle and High School Health Fairs: 85 sites with 12,703 participants (GOAL: 6,000)
• College Health Fairs: 21 campuses with 5,498 participants (GOAL: 4,000)
• Adult Health Fairs: 17 community events with 3,852 participants (GOAL: 4000)
• Exhibit Cart and Simulator Visitors: 249,968 visited the educational cart (GOAL: 150,000). 234,968 visited the DUI Simulator (GOAL: 150,000)
• Rural Communities: The following rural communities and school districts were visited: Larimer, Elizabeth, St. Vrain, Gunnison, Montezuma, and Weld.