View powerful video footage of Manhattan Beach's 
“Every 15 Minutes" Program held June 5-6, 2008

"Every 15 Minutes" is an educational experience that reminds us all of the dangers associated with driving while impaired.

This emotionally charged 2-day program is designed to dramatically instill in teenagers the potentially dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol and getting behind the wheel. This powerful program will challenge students to think about drinking, personal safety, and the responsibility of making mature decisions when lives are involved.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that in 2007, 12,998 people were killed in drunk driving crashes – that’s 12,998 families that received a visit from law enforcement, telling them their loved one wasn’t coming home due to an entirely preventable crime. 
 

During the first day of the Every 15 Minutes program, the "Grim Reaper" (a role played by a Sergeant with the Manhattan Beach Police Department) calls students (representing a cross-section of the entire student body) out of class. One student is removed from class every 15 minutes.

A police officer will enter the classroom to read an obituary which has been written by the "dead" student's parents - explaining the circumstances of their classmate's demise and the contributions the student has made to the school and the community.

A few minutes later, the student will return to class as the "living dead," complete with white face make-up and an “Every 15 Minutes” t-shirt. From that point on "victims" will not speak or interact with other students for the remainder of the school day. Simultaneously, uniformed officers will make mock death notifications to the parents of these children.

After lunch, a simulated traffic collision will be viewable on the school grounds.  Rescue workers will treat injured student participants. These students will experience first hand, the sensations of being involved in a tragic, alcohol-related collision.

Injured students are extricated by the jaws-of-life manned by firefighters.

Police Officers will investigate, arrest, and book the student "drunk driver.”

Student participants will continue their experience by taking an actual trip to the morgue, the hospital emergency room, and the police department jail for the purpose of being booked for "drunk driving.”  View additional event photos

At the end of the day, those students who participated in the staged accident as well as those who were made-up as the "living dead" are transported to a local hotel for an overnight student retreat. The retreat simulates the separation from friends and family. A support staff of counselors and police officers facilitate the retreat.

During the retreat, each student writes a letter to his or her parents starting out with... "Dear Mom and Dad, every fifteen minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcohol related traffic collision, and today I died. I never had the chance to tell you..." Parents are also asked to write similar letters to their children. These letters are shared the following day when students and parents are reunited at a school assembly.

On the second day, an assembly is held that stresses that the decision to consume alcohol and take the wheel can affect many more people than just the one who drinks. This very emotional and heart-wrenching event illustrates to students the potentially dangerous consequences of their use of alcohol, regardless of how casual they believe their use may be.

Student participants in the program represent a cross-section of the Mira Costa High School junior and senior classes. It is gratifying for police personnel to learn that, as word of this program spreads, many more students want to be a part of it.

The Manhattan Beach Police Department in partnership with the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Mira Costa People Attaining Complete Equality Club (PACE), and the Manhattan Beach Fire Department generously donated their time and resources in order to make the event happen. This event was also made possible by our community leaders, community sponsors, and a number of local businesses, organizations, and individuals who generously and enthusiastically support our efforts to bring “Every 15 Minutes” to Mira Costa High School juniors and seniors. To all who played a role in making this event happen, thanks for taking the opportunity to make a difference in our community!

For more information about the program, or to become a sponsor for future events, please contact the Manhattan Beach Police Department's School Resource Officer for Mira Costa High School at (310) 802-5133.

View powerful video footage of Manhattan Beach's 
“Every 15 Minutes" Program held June 5-6, 2008