PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In California, one out
of every 786 teenagers, 16 years old and older, is killed or injured
in an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash. One out of every 300 youth,
16 to 24 years old, is killed or injured in an alcohol-related crash.
Many of these injuries and deaths involve underage drinking and driving,
a problem not easily corrected by more traditional methods such as fines
and license suspensions.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal
of the Youthful Visitation Program (YVP) was the reduction of alcohol-related
crashes involving youth in Sacramento County. Objectives of the program,
developed by Sacramento County law enforcement officials in 1998, are
to:
- Develop
a prevention program targeting underage drinking and driving
- Create a
partnership among likely community agencies
- Produce
an evaluation tool for the new prevention program
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In 1998,
Sacramento County traffic safety advocates including the Sacramento
Superior Court, Juvenile Traffic Court, the UC (University of California)
Davis Trauma Center, the Coroner's Office and local law enforcement
officials formed a partnership to create the Youthful Visitation Program
(YVP). The program matured into a comprehensive alcohol prevention program,
yet began as an effort to educate youthful Driving Under the Influence
(DUI) offenders about impaired driving.
The primary
strategy of the program is to coordinate visitations by youthful (under
18 years of age) DUI offenders to emergency rooms during peak hours,
and to the county morgue to view the consequences of driving and drinking.
During visitations at the morgue, the juvenile offenders are instructed
about the dangers of driving and drinking, by a victim impact panel,
then returned to Juvenile Traffic Court where they are required to write
a 1,000 word essay on lessons learned from the visitation experience.
A variety of other activities enhanced and expanded the YVP, including:
- The court
and local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) worked with
local television stations to produce and air public service announcements
(PSAs) on underage drinking and driving
- Presentations
by YVP officials, MADD officials and the California Highway Patrol
were made to high school students in driver education classes and
at school assemblies. The focus of these presentations was underage
drinking and driving, particularly DUI legislation and the adjudication
process
- Presentations
on underage drinking and driving were conducted throughout the community
during various forums
- A contest
was held during which local high schools students competed to design
the best PSA
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