St. Martin de Porres High School held its first White Out Day May 27, educating students about the dangers of impaired driving.
Sixteen students from the school painted their faces white for the day, and wore a tombstone around their necks to represent the fact that someone dies every 23 minutes as a result of drinking and driving. The event was organized by the school’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapter.
“We want this to make our classmates think before getting into a car,” said Grade 12 student and SADD member Fallon Gillespie.
“If they feel the need to drink, we want to teach them it’s okay to call your parents or a taxi. This is real, you can potentially kill someone or yourself.”
Members of an RCMP checkstop unit brought along the checkstop bus, as well as a frightening example of the effects of drinking and driving. A large yellow pickup truck that was driven by a drunk driver, which slammed into the back of a stationary semi-trailer truck, was an eye opening example of the dangers of driving impaired.
“The driver of that truck was drunk when he was driving it. It’s easy for us to say this happens, but it’s a lot more real when you see it,” said Gillespie.
Fellow SADD member Sarah Ferguson says the wrecked truck is a great way to educate the students.
“This is what happens, this is what your car will look like and you may not be around after it. You know that person did not survive, the truck was completely destroyed,” said Ferguson.
Along with the involvement of the Calgary RCMP, SADD members sold mocktails to students over the lunch hour, with the proceeds going towards the schools graduation ceremonies.
