By Jill Sperling

Kamloops P.A.R.T.Y. program explores the impacts of impaired driving

Mar 11, 2019 | 4:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — Four Kamloops high schools are taking part in the Kamloops P.A.R.T.Y. program, and it’s a sobering event. 

P.A.R.T.Y. stands for Preventing Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth.

“The P.A.R.T.Y. program is a program to help educate kids who are in high school about the dangers of distracted driving, drinking and driving and just making risky choices in life,” said Dave Johnson, executive director of the Kamloops Brain Injury Association. 

In one session, a team of doctors and nurses rush to save a young male who has experienced a severe trauma after drinking and driving. 

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While the patient is only a mannequin, the scenario is all too real. 

“Unfortunately, this is not something that’s uncommon, we do see this,” said Dr. Paul Wroz, who led the simulation. “We are a big trauma centre in Kamloops so we do see this on a regular basis.”

For the high school students in the room, the simulation was eye-opening. 

The patient didn’t make it — a tragic result of one poor choice. 

“I think it’s extremely impactful, I think you could see it in the students’ faces,” Dr. Wroz said. “They’re often quite shocked and they’re very quiet because the scenario is so realistic… and they’ve all heard these stories before.”

Through the P.A.R.T.Y. program, the students also hear from emergency responders and caregivers, learning about the lasting impacts their decisions can have on themselves and the people around them. 

“It literally just takes one time for you to get into an accident, and your son can be gone within ten minutes, and it’s such a traumatic thing and we need to bring so much more awareness to drunk driving and impaired driving,” said student Sierra Moffett.

“It was sad to think about how it’s not just you or that person that’s affected,” said student Sarah Prince. “Your family has to deal with it and your friends have to deal with it, too.”

Many of the students attending these presentations are young drivers, or just learning to drive, making these lessons all the more urgent.

“It definitely makes you open your eyes more to it,” said student Jordan Brown, “Seeing and hearing all these statistics about it and then thinking that could be you one day.”