For the second year in a row, the National 3D Prevention Month Coalition has sponsored a contest to award 3 community safety grants, $500 each, to local organizations participating in 3D Prevention Month. In 1997, contestants had to host at least one 3D Prevention Month event, fill out a “Brag Sheet” about their activities, and do an evaluation of the 3D Prevention Month Program Planner. The three grants were awarded without stipulations, although the Coalition urged winners to use the money for 3D Prevention Month activities.

Dozens of organizations submitted entries, some of which were included in the 1997 3D Exchange. Winners were selected at random during the Coalition’s first meeting of the new year. Once again, the winners represent a cross-section of the many different kinds of groups that are involved in 3D Prevention Month. Their programs may offer some good ideas for 1998. Additional ideas are available in the 1997 3D Exchange and on the Coalition’s Web site (www.3dmonth.org).

Be Sure To Enter Your Program for 1998

See the 1998 3D Prevention Month Brag Sheet and Feedback Form included in this planner. Congratulations to our 1997 winners and good luck to all 1998 contestants.

Stanislaus County, California
The Center for Human Services of Stanislaus County (Modesto, California) hosted an emotional candlelight vigil as part of their Take A Stand Against Impaired Driving campaign. High school students, members of the local chapter of Friday Night Live, were the driving force behind the event, which included singing, prayer, personal speeches, and a skit. Youth and adults, displaying physical and emotional scars, spoke about their personal experiences with alcohol-related crashes. Middle school students from the local Club Live chapter performed a moving skit entitled Every 27 Minutes… about losing a young friend in an impaired driving crash. Over 150 people attended the 45-minute long event, including 35 to 40 people from rehabilitation centers for whom attendance counted as an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. The Center for Human Services of Stanislaus County coordinates local chapters of Friday Night Live, Club Live, and Friday Night Live Kids, statewide programs that engage youth in non-drugged, non-violent, non-alcoholic activities.

Streamwood, Illinois
With the help of “Fatal Vision” goggles, which simulate the vision of a person with an approximate blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 percent, the Streamwood Police Department began a program to teach new drivers the hazards of impaired driving. For each driver’s education class that he conducts, Officer Gene Richardson selects one student to wear the Fatal Vision goggles. He administers traditional field sobriety tests to the student and then makes his “arrest” by handcuffing the student to a chair. The impaired driver is told about court procedure and fees, as well as other possible penalties such as license suspension and loss of auto insurance. The class ends with a viewing of the DuPage County Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Committee’s video of real impaired driving stories and victim testimony. The Fatal Vision program was so well received, it is now a permanent part of all Streamwood High School driver education classes.