VIP for a VIP

I’m not sure where to begin to try to explain the impact this group of volunteers make on our teenagers when they are presenting “VIP for a VIP” program

We can’t thank you enough for all the support you all have been for the VIP for a VIP program.  We stand with you in your loss and press on determined to make a difference in the lives of teen drivers as they travel through this dangerous phase of life.

The VIP for a VIP program received a grant for $25,000 from the United Way of Greensboro and the Bryan Foundation.  This will be used to purchase a mobile bleacher system to make it possible to deliver more programs each spring and fall.

The mission of the VIP for a VIP program is to bring the sight, sounds, and smell of a fatal vehicle accident to high school students in a dramatic way in hopes of embedding the consequences of these often senseless events into the minds of teenage drivers.  VIP for a VIP programs are usually delivered to high school juniors and seniors in the spring around prom time and in the fall around homecoming. The program focuses on young drivers and the choices they will have to make while driving, such as:

·        Driving while impaired.

·        Driving or riding in a vehicle with more people than available seat belts.

·        Allowing distractions in the vehicle (loud music, radio adjustment, partying, etc).

·        Driving over the posted speed limit.

·        Playing games with another driver (racing).

·        Using a cell phone or text messaging

·        Riding on top or in the back of a vehicle (car surfing)

·        Driving faster than road conditions should allow (inclement weather).

         The VIP for a VIP program is presented in a morning and afternoon session.  The morning session starts at 10:00 am bringing students to the auditorium where they hear members of local law enforcement, fire, rescue, emergency medical services, and survivor parents, share their experience with accidents involving students. A video presentation, teenage driver accident statistics, and photos of fatal accidents in their community further drive home their vulnerability.  The sessions finishes with a student’s poem set to video during which a casket at the front of the auditorium is uncovered by a honor guard team revealing the ultimate consequence of a simple driver error.  

         Around 1:30 pm, the students are again assembled outside on bleachers for a demonstration of a fatal car crash involving a teenage driver.  This simulated auto accident portrays a student driving a high performance sports car, drinking, driving over the limit, being distracted by changing CDs.  The car leaves the road and crashes into a utility pole.  A jogger arrives and calls 911.  Over the sound system, the students hear his call and the dispatch of emergency equipment.  The voice of the teen, who really died on impact, calls out “help me out of the car”, “I can’t believe I wrecked my car – I have a date tonight”.  The Highway Patrol arrives and talks to the audience about the physics of a car hitting a pole at 55 miles per hour.  The local Fire Department and EMS arrive and begin cutting the car to free the pinned teen.  The dead driver again cries out “to just help him out of the car” and “hide those beer cans”.  The Fire crews remove the car door and roof and place the driver on a backboard, then start CPR just feet away from the now attentive student audience.  Mom and Dad arrive and franticly call out to their child.  The child’s voice from the speakers says “Why is mom crying?  It was like this dad… I stopped at the store and had a drink with the guys and lost track of time.  I was hurrying to work and leaned over to change the CD and ran off the road”.  The speakers broadcast the paramedics call to the hospital detailing the lack of response from the patient and the subsequent order from the hospital to stop CPR.  This is the moment that the students realize that the driver’s voice had been his soul.  The parents cry out as their child is zipped into a body bag, loaded into the Ambulance, and leaves.  The director’s closing remarks to a quiet, often teared, student body reminds them gently that this is the way it happens in real life and to think about the things they heard today and make good decisions.

         Each time this program is presented, it is dedicated to the students at that school that have lost their life in vehicle accidents. This program was approved and copyrighted in 1998 after the first presentation, by the Guilford County School Program Administrator for School Safety.

I would like to say thanks to the members of the VIP for a VIP program for all their hard work - We know your help is making a difference in teen driver safety.

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