
Foothill High School juniors and seniors are set to confront the grim reality of drinking and driving through the Every 15 Minutes program, a two-day initiative scheduled to take place on their campus. As reported by the City of Henderson's official site, Every 15 Minutes aims to instill a sense of personal safety and responsibility in students when alcohol is involved, promoting mature decision-making and understanding the impact of their actions on others.
The program, which gets its name from the early '90s statistic that someone in the United States died in an alcohol-related traffic fatality every 15 minutes, begins with a staged traffic collision today at 9:00 a.m. Real-life emergency services will respond to the scene, where the consequences of driving under the influence will be starkly illustrated for students. According to the program details, a student will "die," another will be rushed to a hospital, and the teenage driver, after a field sobriety test, will be arrested for DUI.
Following the simulation, participating students, referred to as the "living dead", will engage in a series of activities designed to echo the aftermath of a fatal crash. These include death notifications and the criminal prosecution of the incident's DUI, all of which will be cloaked in the same sobering atmosphere as the initial scene. The students are also set for an overnight retreat to deepen the impact of the program's message.
The program concludes with an assembly tomorrow at 8:30 a.m., where juniors and seniors will gather to process and discuss the simulation's events. As highlighted on the City of Henderson's news post, they'll hear from peers involved in the simulation and testimony from those impacted by drinking and driving, providing first-hand insights into the tragedy's ramifications.
The Every 15 Minutes program is a collective effort presented by the Henderson Police, in partnership with the Clark County School District and supporting organizations including Henderson Fire Department, Mercy Air, and Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena Campus. The national initiative seeks to arm teenagers with the tools necessary to avoid impaired driving tragedies and is geared towards fostering responsible behaviors behind the wheel.