PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
National data indicate that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers. In fact, one in four teens will be involved in a crash during their first year of driving. More than 60 percent of youth ages 16 to 20 fatally injured in traffic crashes are not wearing a seat belt, and almost 25 percent of teen crash fatalities are speed-related. A total of 25 percent of teen drivers killed in traffic crashes have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.1 or above.

Although teens comprised only 7 percent of all Delaware drivers in 1999, they were involved in nearly 14 percent of the state's total traffic crashes, 15 percent of all injury crashes, and 15 percent of all fatal crashes. In 1999, motor vehicle crashes accounted for 33 percent of fatalities among youth ages 15 to 20. The primary causes of teenage fatal crashes in Delaware during 1999 were inexperience (49 percent), excessive speed (32 percent), and impaired driving (19 percent). As the teenage population increases statewide, fatal motor vehicle crashes involving teens will also increase, without successful intervention.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
To help reduce traffic crash-related deaths and injuries among Delaware teenagers, the Delaware State Police created Troopers Educating About Roadway Safety (TEARS) in 1999. Objectives of the program are to:

• Raise awareness among young drivers and passengers of the dangers of impaired driving, speeding and not wearing a seat belt.
• Facilitate a better relationship between youth and law enforcement officers

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The TEARS program was developed by three members of the Delaware State Police's Fatal Accident Investigation and Reconstruction (FAIR) Team. It was designed to be simple and inexpensive to implement. FAIR team members began by identifying recent, fatal crashes involving young drivers, that resulted from excessive speed, alcohol or drug use, inexperience, and/or non-use of seat belts. Team members then began to gather information on the crash. They collected factual data, photographs, and they interviewed victims' family members and friends to determine how their lives had changed with the death of their loved ones. Officers requested family members' permission to present their stories publicly.

Once all pertinent information was collected, FAIR team members created a compelling presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint. The presentation includes state and national statistics, crash dynamics, and a description of what occurs during the last seven seconds of a person's life, after a traffic crash. The most emotional portions of the presentation are the case studies, and a simulated telephone conversation between a victim's mother and a hospital nurse. The facts of each crash are provided, along with stories from friends and relatives. The final message of the presentation strives to be preventive. TEARS is presented at local high schools throughout the school year.

RESULTS
Although the TEARS program has not been formally evaluated, the state troopers who present the program believe that it has positively impacted the students who hear the presentations. Students appear to be deeply affected, and they assure the troopers that they will make better decisions, so that they do not end up like the victims. The most compelling aspect of this program is the use of recent local crashes and local victims. Often, the students are acquainted with the fatally injured person, or know of them. They are also familiar with the crash location, and so the stories are particularly unnerving.