This injury prevention poster shows that in Texas (1999) teen crashes accounted for 76% of all teen deaths caused by unintentional injuries. More than 20% of persons injured in a motor vehicle–related event were between the ages of 15 and 24 years old. The purpose of this project is to reduce the incidence of teen motor vehicle–related crashes by providing an injury prevention field trip program to teens (TIPP). Prehospital, hospital, and law enforcement are core components of the program. The message is proactive and positive in addressing driving safely and being aware of the lifetime impact of driving under the influence–related motor vehicle crashes. Students receive a teen drinking/driving crash scenario with hands-on education from EMS and the Fire Department in the extrication/resuscitation of victims from a wrecked vehicle. To learn the long-term effects of drinking and driving, participants hear from physical therapists about the treatment of spinal cord injuries and other debilitating injuries. The theory behind TIPP is that by exposing teens to a traumatic scenario, the imprint of the sights, sounds, and the odors are recorded in the teen’s experience and can become powerful stimuli (toward injury prevention and behavioral change) in the future. TIPP has been presented 15 times to approximately 1000 students. A pretest, posttest, and evaluation tool is administered. The subjects tested were between the ages of 16 and 18 years. Subjects (95%) scored less than 100% on the pretest. However, these same subjects scored above 95% on the posttest, demonstrating increased comprehension of the dangers of drinking and driving. The evaluation tools reveal that students were affected with "real-life" hands-on participation in the resuscitation of crash victims and by the "real-life" discussions with survivors who sustained (preventable) injuries. A multidisciplinary and collaborative effort from different agencies is recommended, that is, hospital, prehospital, fire, and police. The main challenge for this program’s success is in obtaining adequate funding for work force to track, evaluate, and measure the outcomes.
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