A-O Fire Hosts V.I.P for a V.I.P Program at Western High School!!
VIP for a VIP
Vehicle Injury Prevention for a Very Important Person
Welcome and thank you for visiting our site !
The Mission 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 sometimes senseless events into the minds of teenage drivers.
The Program is delivered by volunteers from local fire, EMS, police, and state highway patrol agencies as well as individuals from other organizations. There is no cost to the hosting school. Programs are usually scheduled in the spring and fall near prom and homecoming events. Once the hosting school commits, the VIP provides handout material for the students to take home including a contract for life that they sign and return to school. A week before the program the VIP places an automobile that two students lost their life in at the front entrance of the school as a visible testimony from the victims families.
The program itself consists of two sessions. The Morning session, which lasts about an hour, brings students to the auditorium where they hear speakers from emergency services and parents of teenage accident victims talk about their experiences. The students then view two video presentations and statistics on accidents involving teenage drivers. The presentation is direct from the real world, graphic, and true. It is not just about driving while impaired and speeding, but mostly about avoiding distractions that capture the attention of these new drivers for the few seconds that it takes to cause an accident. The morning session lasts approximately one hour.
The afternoon session lasts about 30 minutes, assembles students on bleachers outside to observe a reinactment of a fatal automobile accident. Once assembled, a covering is removed revealing a smoking auto with a teen driver slumped over the steering wheel. A jogger runs by the accident. Over the speakers, the students hear his call to 911, followed by the dispatch of police, fire, and ambulance units. Units arrive and find the patient pinned in the vehicle and begin cutting the door and roof off to get the patient out. Once out, rescuers perform CPR as the teens mom and dad arrive. The rescuers efforts are unsuccessful and the patient is loaded into the ambulance and sent to the hospital. The students are dismissed and return to class.
The History of the VIP for a VIP program is relatively short and the program has not changed much during this time. But we believe the local teen accident statistics are a few less than they would have been. The program was conceived in 1998 when off-duty firefighter Steve Zimmerman and Larry Cockman, came upon a vehicle accident that had just occurred involving two teens who had decided to skip school that day. The driver had lost control of the vehicle and struck a bridge column, ejecting the passenger from the vehicle, which came to rest on top of her taking her life. In the days following the accident, Steve and Larry struggled with this senseless loss and purposed to develop a program to educate teens by bringing the reality of what they saw that day to the doorstep of high schools in the area. The first VIP for a VIP program was delivered in the spring of 1998, and every spring and fall since that time. To date 21 programs have been delivered reaching over 10,000 teenagers.
For more Information about the VIP for a VIP program, please call Steve Zimmerman at (336) 508-3781
The following Sponsors and Supporters have been instrumental in the success of the VIP for a VIP Program. While volunteers provide the manpower for events, there remains a substantial need for audio-visual, props, printing, and other equipment that we currently borrow for events. For Sponsorship information call Kelly Grooms at (336) 687-5654
Contract for Life from the VIP for a VIP handout
I________________________, promise to obey all traffic laws, and wear available lap and shoulder restraints at all times, when operating, or riding, in a motor vehicle. Further, I will not operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription medications that may alter my ability to drive safely. I will not ride in a motor vehicle with anyone who is impaired by drugs or alcohol. I understand that this is a "Zero Tolerance" agreement (no amount of alcohol or drugs will be tolerated regardless of how small). I agree to limit passengers in my car to a number established by my parent(s) or guardian(s). Additionally, I will call my parents for transportation if I cannot drive safely, or if I am not safe riding with another driver.
Signature______________________ Date___/___/___
I,______________________________ the parent/guardian of_______________________________ promise to abide by the provisions of the above agreement also. Additionally, I will set a good example when operating a motor vehicle. I agree to provide transportation at any time. I promise to ensure your safety by revoking your driving privileges if you violate this agreement.
***The information on this page is Copyrighted, Protected or Property of one of the following agencies. V.I.P for a V.I.P, The Times news of Burlington NC, and the Altamahaw - Ossipee Fire Department. Any use is Unauthorized / Prohibited without specific permission.
By Brie Handgraaf Times-News brie_handgraaf@link.freedom.com
One decision. One moment. Too many shattered lives to count. It was a sobering message for students who gathered Wednesday at Western Alamance High School to see a dramatic program geared toward minimizing the number of car crashes involving teenagers. Vehicle Injury Prevention for a Very Important Person started in Guilford County in 1998, when firefighters responded to a crash in which two teenagers, who were skipping school, were killed when their car hit a bridge. "Kids sometimes think they are immortal, but there wasn’t a kid in that place that didn’t connect the program to their own parents," said Terri Spears, principal at Western Alamance. "It is very powerful. It’s a reality check." The students met in the auditorium in the morning to hear personal testimonies from parents who had lost children in car crashes. Wayne McNeil, president of the Triad chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was one of the speakers who told the story of his 25-year old son who decided to drink and drive in 1999 and paid with his life. "Some choices can affect the rest of your life. Whether that is five minutes or 50 years," he said. "I’ve seen the tragic effect it has on families. Your choice can affect so many lives and none are affected in a good way." They also watched a video with more heart-wrenching stories of families destroyed. Another video displayed photographs of crashes and statistics played to the tune of Geoffrey Long’s "I always thought that I’d see you again." "Any car accident is too much," Spears said. "Anything that we can do to make them think about possible consequences is worth the effort." Students went back to classes after they witnessed a car crash reenactment in the parking lot at 1:45 p.m. Firefighters played a sound effect of a car crash then unveiled a bloody passenger, played by Zack Armfield, 15, stuck in the driver’s seat of a burgundy Chrysler sedan that had hit a telephone pole. Students saw first-hand how rescuers respond to an accident as Armfield was pulled from the car by EMS rescuers after they pulled off the door and roof with the Jaws of Life. The rescuers had him strapped to a board while a narrator vocalized the thoughts of the teen who was worried about how his dad would react to the wrecked car and how he had a prom to go to that night. The emergency workers performed mock CPR and shocked him with the defibrillator as actors playing his parents pulled up and were held back by officials. After CPR for several minutes and a few shocks, the patient slips away and is put into a body bag. His parents can no longer fight off tears as they realize their son is dead. The voice of the son asks, "Why? He just took his eyes off the road for a second to change a CD." The frightening reality of what a few seconds could do, a slip in judgment, a bad choice, seemed to resonate in the teenagers. "I tell kids there is no rewind button on life," McNeil said. "They all are 10 feet tall and bulletproof. They think it can’t happen to them, but, oh yeah, it can." The Altamahaw-Ossipee Fire Department hosted the event in coordination with Burlington Fire Department, Alamance County EMS and rescue, the Alamance County Sheriff's Department and the North Carolina Highway Patrol. To comment on this and other Times-News stories, go to TheTimesNews.com and scroll to the bottom of the story
Scott Muthersbaugh / Times-News Alamance County emergency personnel participate in the Vehicle Injury Prevention for a Very Important Person (VIP for a VIP) program Wednesday at Western Alamance High School
