UTMB program portrays consequences of drunken/drugged driving
Driving while drunk. Or under the influence of drugs. Or when your mind is on anything other than the road. Is it worth it?
The answer to that question is a resounding no.
University of Texas Medical Branch Trauma Services, in conjunction with The Center for Addiction Research, will drive home that point with a live production that vividly portrays the devastating effects of drunken/drugged driving.
The free “Is It Worth It?” event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Health Education Center, Room 1.200, 301 11th St. in Galveston.
The highlight of the event will be a staged car crash followed by the real-life aftermath of a drunken/drugged driving wreck, including emergency care, police involvement, catastrophic injury and death. Parts of the staged event will be live, with actual EMS personnel attending at the scene, and others will be pre-recorded, such as the scene at a real UTMB emergency room with actual doctors and nurses in action.
Because of the graphic nature of the demonstration, attendees must be 15 years or older and minors must be accompanied by a parent.
“This will be a very emotional production. It can be very upsetting,” explains Miranda Culligan, injury prevention specialist with UTMB Trauma Services, who organized the event. “But we feel passionately that it can save a life by accurately depicting the dangers and consequences of impaired driving.”
The event also will include guest speakers, a virtual-reality drunken or distracted driving simulator, three levels of “drunk goggles” that re-create a sense of driving impaired either by alcohol or drugs; and tours of emergency services vehicles including an ambulance and fire truck.
Registration is limited to 75 attendees. To register, go to utmb.us/709.
The “Is It Worth It?” event is funded by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation.