PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Young drivers are traditionally over-represented in car crashes. New Hampshire drivers under the age of 21 represent 5.5 percent of the state's licensed drivers and 13.2 percent of the drivers involved in fatal crashes. Inexperienced as drivers, they are also inexperienced alcohol drinkers and may not understand the effect alcohol has on their physical and mental abilities. They further do not grasp the devastating impact an alcohol-involved crash will have on the rest of their lives. Approximately 14 percent of the young drivers involved in fatal crashes had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.02. Young drivers often fail to use seat belts and to obey all traffic laws. Only 54 percent of the young drivers and passengers observed in a 1995 safety belt use survey were buckled up.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The primary goals of Fatal Reality were to decrease the incidence of drinking and driving and to increase seat belt use in young drivers by:

• Illustrating the long-term emotional impact of killing or injuring another person
• Stressing that young people are not immortal
• Demonstrating the impact that drinking and driving can have on their future and that of others.

Fatal Reality (cont'd)

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

Fatal Reality, which began operation in 1995, used a recreation of a trial concerning a crash in which a woman's fetus was killed. The mother of the fetus had been a passenger in a vehicle driven by an impaired driver. The mock trial employed a real judge, prosecutor, district attorney, accident reconstructionist, toxicologist and medical examiner. The medical examiner further stressed the need for seat belts. Students served both as the defendant and jury. The jury deliberated and returned a verdict; the judge imposed the sentence.

Additionally, a 30-minute video was developed and shown, presenting young people who are in jail because of killing someone through drunk driving. The video demonstrates the impact their drinking and driving has had on their lives.

RESULTS

Fatal Reality has been presented to 13 schools and approximately 7,320 students. Reviews have been extremely positive, with students stressing the interactive nature of the program and the emotional impact the program has had on their thinking. One student's reaction is perhaps the most telling: "I never realized that being DWI and causing death or serious injury could hurt you the rest of your life." Other students were affected by the victim's personal accounts, the details of the autopsy report, and the extent of the toxicologist's report.

Fatal Reality has only been in place for one year. The most current data available, 1995 crash statistics, will be used as a baseline for comparison with 1996 crash statistics and the 1996 seat belt use survey to determine the impact of the program.