“Shattered Lives” Teaches Teens about Unsafe Driving
From yourhoustonnews.com
Drunk drinking and texting while driving are big problems all across the nation, not just in Houston. Teens are especially at risk to be caught in a life-threatening accident due to texting and unsafe driving. One local program called Shattered Lives is making an effort to reduce these problems. Through the use of re-enactments of fatal accidents and the participation of first responders and volunteers, teens are shown a dramatic and potentially life-changing scene.
Yourhoustonnews.com reports Mike Valdez, the director of Shattered Lives of Montgomery County describing the program: “It’s a community-wide program to educate kids about the consequences of drinking or texting while driving. The program has a dramatic impact on people.”
The program takes wrecked cars from accidents and places them on school lots in positions that mimic actual accidents, then puts volunteers into them to simulate injured or dead victims. Stage blood is added to increase the dramatic effect. The students are shown the cars then listen to 9-1-1 calls of the accidents. First responders arrive on the scene in ambulances and fire trucks and take care of the accidents by trying to treat the injured, or deal with the dead. Hydraulic equipment is used to cut through the cars. Seeing a fellow classmate being wrapped up in a body bag can be quite a shock. Actors that are uninjured are given sobriety tests and questioned by law-enforcement personnel. It’s a complete scene of everything that can go wrong in a car accident.
That’s the point of the program. Through showing teens the real-life consequences of distracted and drunk driving, the program hopes to leave an indelible mark on the minds of these teens so they’ll never become a drunk driver or another texting statistic. The program has been in operation for 14 years, and rotates through different high schools in Montgomery each year.
As personal injury attorneys, we get to see the next steps beyond the crash scene for the survivors. The punishment for these crimes doesn’t end with the insurance company raising rates, or paying fines and sitting in jail. The victims are also entitled to compensation so their injuries can be treated. If you have been injured in an accident due to someone drunk driving or driving while texting, or know someone who has, I urge you to call a personal injury attorney lawyer. We can provide you with a free consultation and match you with the best lawyer to fit your needs. Don’t let fear of the legal system prevent you from getting the compensation you need to make a full recovery.