PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
According
to data from the Georgia Department of Public Safety, impaired drivers
were involved in an average of 27 motor vehicle crashes every day in
1998. These crashes resulted in 8,359 injuries and 498 deaths. Drivers
license suspensions for impaired motorists ages 16 to 17 increased 43
percent, and 114 percent for drivers ages 18 to 20 in 1998. Further,
motorists ages 16 to 17 were involved in 199 of the total 9,778 crashes,
resulting in 202 injuries, and 10 fatalities. Although a wide variety
of studies have determined that alcohol-involvement increases the severity
of motor vehicle crashes, impaired driving remains a constant factor
in serious traffic crashes.
Professionals
in the field of prevention generally agree that the most effective approach
to reducing alcohol and other drug problems is through innovative educational
methods and law enforcement. To address the disturbing incidence of
impaired driving among Georgia youth, the Georgia Governor's Office
of Highway Safety sought to create a tool to provide high school students
with a positive choice.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The CHOICE program
was developed in 1999 to reduce impaired driving among Georgia adolescents
ages 15 to 18, using a new and innovative educating mechanisma
theatrical dramatization. Specific objectives of the program are to:
- Foster change
in negative behaviors and beliefs regarding impaired driving in high
schools, where students are most at risk for using drugs and alcohol
while operating a vehicle
- Increase
awareness of Georgia's impaired driving laws among students and their
parents
- Reduce the
potential for impaired driving crashes among students in the targeted
schools, during and after prom season
- Provide
education and information concerning teen driving laws in Georgia.
- Present
an open forum for parents and their teenagers to discuss substance
abuse and driving
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The
Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety contracted with Arch Productions,
Inc. To produce CHOICE, a 35-minute theatrical production about
impaired driving. CHOICE depicts five young people who are seduced
by the false sense of euphoria produced by alcohol and drugs. It portrays
the dangers of abuse, changes in behavior, and denial of personal responsibility.
CHOICE also demonstrates to young people that they do have a
choice concerning the use of alcohol and drugs, especially while operating
an automobile.
CHOICE
is performed during high school assemblies throughout Fulton County,
Georgia. Following the performance, a forum is held between the cast
and audience. Many students experience an emotional connection as a
result of the production's youth-to-youth portrayal, and consider re-evaluating
their choices. CHOICE actors who share their success in developing
new behaviors and abandoning old ones, provide a source of hope, inspiration
and encouragement for program participants.
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