Every 15 Minutes




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			"Every 15 Minutes" History of Program First program was done in Chico, CA in 1996. Mansfield Police Department conducted its first program in 1998. The program, or variations thereof, have been done all across the country. What is Every 15 Minutes? It is a DWI education program that teaches juniors and seniors in high school what the consequences could be should they choose to drink and drive. The program name was derived from the statistic that every 15 minutes in the U.S. somebody is injured/killed from a DWI wreck. Why Do We Need This Program? Because DWI fatalities are still too high in the US. In 2000 there were 41,821 deaths due to DWI wrecks. In 2000 the number of teenage DWI fatalities was 7,956. That is 22 teenagers a day, or almost one teenager every hour. Community Wide Problem Teenagers think they are invincible. Teenagers think they can “handle it”. Viewed as socially acceptable and a rite of passage. Often there are no consequences for their actions. Some parents buy alcohol for kids. Difficult to get teenagers to intervene with friends/students. About The Every 15 Minutes Program Intense two-day, school based program. Target decisions about drinking and driving. Usually conducted just prior to prom and graduation. More involved than a single event program. Requires active participation from students, parents and everybody else involved. First Day Events Every 15 Minutes a heartbeat will play over the P.A. system. A grim reaper enters a classroom and removes a pre-selected student. A police officer enters and reads student’s obituary. A counselor is present to talk to students. Student's face is made up to look ashen white. Student puts on a black T-shirt that says “Living Dead”. Student takes his/her cross out front of school and puts it in ground. Student returns to normal schedule but does not interact with anybody. Participating students load buses to leave for overnight retreat. Students will hear guest speakers and see presentations. Mock Crash Scene Crash Scene will take place around 10:00 a.m. All juniors and seniors released to go outside and witness accident scene. Police Dept., Fire Dept., Careflight and Funeral Home respond to crash scene. Students are treated and taken to hospital. One student taken by funeral home. One student arrested as drunk driver and taken to jail. Crash students treated at hospital. Parents of crash victims go to hospital. Parents meet with hospital staff to find out the condition of their child. Second Day Events Get up early and have breakfast. Depart retreat facility and go back to school. Participating students still have no interaction with other students or families. Assembly in gym for all juniors, seniors and participating students family. After assembly all participating students and their families return to lecture hall for debriefing. We will talk about what has transpired over the two days. Information About Program Mansfield Police Department welcomes volunteers and/or sponsors for this program. Contact the Community Resource Division for information about the program or to become a volunteer and/or sponsor.