Could the “VIP for a VIP” Program Reduce North Carolina Auto Accidents?
According to WECT, this past week, the North Carolina Highway Patrol has been traveling around to high schools throughout Columbus County in a bid to tamp down on the number of North Carolina auto accidents through its “VIP for a VIP” program.
Dismayed by statistics that suggest that over 276 teens have died in just four years, highway patrol officers want students to appreciate on a visceral level the dangers of driving while distracted. As prom season approaches, troopers, families, and school administrators alike worry about potential drug and alcohol abuse.
Students will be asked to sign something called a “zero tolerance contract” for drugs and alcohol. The VIP for a VIP program (stands for “vehicle injury prevention for a very important person”) includes a disturbing life-like reenactment of a fatal auto accident — students have to watch this. So first they listen to facts and figures about the dangers of inattentive, DUI, and careless driving; then they see the brutal consequences of ignoring safety measures.
The big question is: Will the VIP for a VIP program work?
In theory, it all sounds nice. The idea is simply to train students to be alert to dangers and to “get the message to sink in” using graphic demonstrations of the power of autos to kill and maim.
The utility of such programs, however, can be difficult to measure.
Will North Carolina auto accidents among teens decrease after the rollout of this program? And even if the numbers get better, can you credit the program, or might another factor be responsible? Picking out “cause and effect” in a car accident data can be a fraught business. If you blame the wrong cause, the adjustments you make to policy can have dangerous affects.
Consider the old tale about the drunk searching for his keys under a street light. A police officer comes up to him and asks “Is this where you dropped your keys?” To which the drunk replies, “No, but this is where the light is.” The moral here is: it’s easy to “look where the light is.”
But to prevent accidents, we might do well by expanding our view of possible policy solutions. For instance, instead of just instructing teenagers once about the dangers of DUI and driving while text messaging; perhaps teens should be put through a series of programs – one every few months or so. This way, their visceral understanding of auto accident dangers won’t wane over time. After all, good data suggest that human beings need to re-learn new ideas multiple times. One exposure to scary information about car crashes may not be enough. We may need to show kids the dangers many many times before they deeply get it and change their habits accordingly.
If you or someone you care about has been hurt and needs legal advice, connect with a North Carolina auto accident law firm to go over your rights and figure out strategies to get fair compensation.
More Web Resources:
VIP for a VIP program
North Carolina Highway Patrol
