May 12, 2004

Crash course

photo Herald photo by Carol South
Students at Traverse City Christian School received a crash course in driver safety - literally.

Program offers students realistic look at auto accidents

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       From crash to emergency response to physical therapy for recovery from injuries, students at Traverse City Christian School got an inside look at car accidents last Wednesday.
      What happens on impact, to both passengers and the vehicle, was demonstrated by both an auto graveyard featuring three smashed up cars and by dropping a car from 100 feet up. Using gravity to simulate a 20 mile per hour crash, the students gasped at the sickening crunch as a Ford Taurus dropped front first onto their school's grounds.
      For Justin Roach, a senior at the school, the noise of the metal buckling and glass shattering brought back vivid memories of his previous wrecks.
      "The sounds were all too familiar," he said.
      With help from Elmer's and Gene's Auto, parent Jennifer Scrogin set up that demonstration. Scrogin also enrolled a range of professionals to talk to students throughout the morning: State Police troopers, Grand Traverse County Sheriffs, fire and rescue personnel, a paramedic, an emergency room doctor and a physical therapist. Holly Schopieray, a student from Central High School who had been in a serious car accident, also shared her story with the students.
      Scrogin met for months with her team to create the comprehensive and integrated program, which she hopes to take to other schools. She was determined to bring a dose of reality to new drivers or students who would be driving soon.
      "Right now everything is very virtual reality with TV shows and video games and I wanted the kids to have something very tangible, something they could get very close to," Scrogin said. "I wanted to get them as close as possible to an accident without being in one and I also wanted them to understand what happens after the accident."
      A registered nurse with two daughters, ages 14 and ten, Scrogin conceived of the idea 18 months ago when on a family outing to Gene's. Her husband searched for a part while she and her daughters waited in the car. Their attention was drawn to the wreckage around them and she got them out of the car for a closer look. When she saw their faces, she knew she had to get other teens involved.
      "I think that they were shocked at the reality of it, because what they saw were things like windows that had blown out and a back seat poking through the back window and blood splattered on the windshield," Scrogin said. "They never realized that an interior of a car could just come apart."
      "I think most kids in that age bracket think it is just two cars going bump, they feel very, very protected by the metal," she added.
      Laura Miller, a senior at the school, was involved in serious car accidents two yeas ago when her brother was driving. Miller and her brother survived, though with injuries, but an occupant of the other car did not.
      "There's really no place worth going to that's worth dying for," Miller said of her attitude toward driving now. "Am I so important that I can ruin somebody else's life because I'm in a hurry?"
      Miller said the messages from the program are important for young drivers to hear.
      "I think we think we're invincible, when you get in a car you're the big vehicle," Miller said. "I know I drive differently in a smaller car than a bigger one."
      Roach drives daily to the school from Mancelona and said fighting boredom is a challenge on the long drive. He believes the program was especially important for seniors who may drive more and in unfamiliar places when they go to college next fall.
      "Just to remind them to pay attention, even though you may be tired of driving on a long trip home," Roach said.
      Jim Carroll, public education officer for the Grand Traverse County Fire Department, told students that safe and slow is better than the alternative.
      "Consider that driving in a car is something you're going to be doing for a long time," he said. "It's a gift and a responsibility. Remove distractions and realize that when you have a boatload of friends in your car you're responsible for them and everybody who touches their lives."