The Every 32 Minutes program is a widely used presentation within the law enforcement community to help aid with addressing the reduction of teen driving fatalities and serious injury.
The Region 2 Target Zero Task Force in partnership with the Raymond Police Department will be conducting the Every 32 Minutes program at the Raymond High School this Friday. The Region 2 task force encompasses law enforcement agencies from Grays Harbor, Pacific and Mason counties to help educate citizens regarding traffic safety issues while promoting safe driving methods.
Emergency responders including law enforcement officers from the Pacific County Sheriff's Office, the Raymond Police Department and the Washington State Patrol will be participating. The Raymond Fire Department, the Pacific County Prosecutor and Coroner's Office, life flight, substance abuse prevention advocates and the Pacific County Communication's Center will also be partnering to bring students a firsthand look at fatality collisions.
The national statistic is that every 32 minutes someone is killed by an impaired driver. Although current data shows that it's every 44 minutes, the 32 minute model is still used. Student selection for participation is very important. The sheriff's office interviews potential students and look for a cross selection from within the student body. If chosen, the sheriff's office meets with parents to fully explain the delicate nature of the program. Students meet and plan throughout the school year for the mock program that is strategically planned before spring prom and graduation.
Every 32 minutes within the school, a dispatch communication will go over the intercom of an accident involving one of the preselected students. A sibling or best friend of the "victim" reads an obituary they have written over the intercom. Meanwhile, in the classroom, paramedics place the "student victim" on a stretcher and cover them with a white sheet. The student is taken to a staging area and will not return to class or have access to a cell phone or social media. This continues every 32 minutes throughout the school day. During the day, a large scale mock crash will occur outside of the school with a massive emergency response including a life flight helicopter. Some families will receive a visit from law enforcement and go through what would happen had their student really been involved in a fatality motor vehicle accident.
The program is completed with an all school assembly that the community is invited to attend. Parents speak about what their experience of the death notification was like, students speak about the experience, and real victims speak about how their lives have been forever changed. Professionals speak on how to make better choices and law enforcement speaks on consequences. Data shows us this program is highly effective at reducing serious injury and fatal collisions in youth. The average reduction experienced is up to 65%. The timing of this event is during the peak season with prom, graduation, and summer months.