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On April 29, secondary five students at Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes gathered outside to witness the inner workings of the scene of a staged car crash. Members of the Deux-Montagnes Regional Police, local firefighters, and the Emergency Service Unit of Deux-Montagnes and Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac responded to a staged vehicle accident in front of the school to show the students firsthand what occurs.
From the arrival of the police and ambulances, to the firefighters aiding the people stuck in the crashed vehicle and the coroners handling the dead body, it was an eye-opening experience for the impressionable young students. "Even though it was fake, it was still sad to see. I just got my permit and this will definitely make me more careful on the road. I'm going to pay more attention and slow down," said 18 year old student Hugh Lapointe.
A first in the region
It is estimated by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Quebec (SAAQ) that although young people 16 to 24 years old represent 10% of license holders, they also represent 24% of drivers involved in accidents with injuries. This campaign, organized by the Centre de santé et de services sociaux (CSSS) of Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes, hopes to sensitize young drivers to the dangers of distractions on the road, particularly using cell phones and speeding.
Antonio Lavigne, president of the board at CSSS Lac-du-Deux-Montagnes, was also in attendance. He was the school director at Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes for over 12 years and believes this simulation will help educate the students. "Using cell phones and speeding is a danger not only to people in the car, but those on the road. This will help all people, especially the students, to know that cell phones are not a thing to use when you're driving and that it's important to respect the speed limits," said Lavigne.
The idea for the campaign aimed at secondary five students first came about by Ginette Constantine, a nurse at Saint-Eustache Hospital. Based on experiments conducted in 2007 by the hospital for the Sacred Heart Foundation and ThinkFirst, Constatine sought the aid of several partnerships to achieve this first for the region. Nathalie Comtois, a nurse at CLSC Jean-Olivier Chénier, worked for several years in schools and helped Constatine with the implemention the project with the Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. "The simulation of an accident is a powerful awareness tool which plunges the young at heart into action and leads to awareness of what might happen if such an event occurs in reality," stated Comtois.
Think first
ThinkFirst is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of brain and spinal cord injuries. For over fifteen years, ThinkFirst has been heightening public awareness through education by visiting schools and speaking out. Founder and president, neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Tator, travelled from Toronto to witness the simulation, along with Jean Pothier, head of the Quebec chapter. "Our Quebec chapter is one of the biggest. We are particularly interested in reducing the incidences of brain and spinal injuries, which we call catastrophic injuries. It's sad to see people, especially those who die or become permanently disabled, simply as a result of not thinking first," said Dr. Tator.
According to ThinkFirst, car crashes are the number one cause of death and disability in young people. Pothier's son was 23 years old when he suffered a brain injury in a car crash in 1991. After spending almost four months in a coma, and a year and a half in rehabilitation, the family now works together to help educate young people. "We like to start early because if you teach them early, they're more likely to remember those messages. We're trying to teach kids to keep their eyes on the road, to not be distracted by cell phones or other people in the car, and to make sure to wear their seat belts and keep the car in good condition," explained Dr. Tator. The organization also doesn't believe in using the term "accident" when describing preventable injuries. "We are trying to get rid of that word because it's no such thing as an accident, especially with car crashes. 99% are preventable, predictable, and therefore, they are not accidents," he said.
For more information on prevention, visit www.thinkfirst.ca.
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