Student Assembly

Today is the day we are off and away!!
Our kick off assembly is today our schedule of events include a presentation by a local teen who was involved in a fatal car crash just one year ago.

In the spring of 2008 on April 27th two friends from a small town in Western Montana took a car and drove to a town about 60 miles away to pick up two girls. The foursome would travel to a near- by lake for an evening of drinking and partying. Around 4:00 a.m. the group left the lake to drive the girls home so they wouldn’t get caught sneaking out for the night. Traveling 80 miles per hour on a narrow two lane highway the car struck two elk crossing the road. The driver kept the car on the road and skidded to a halt. The first elk the car struck hit the windshield taking the roof completely off the car, the second elk hit the right front panel causing severe damage to the car. The driver barely 17 jumped from the car thinking he had killed everyone else in the car. Then his friend jumped out of the car. They decided to try to drive the car to the hospital. Covered with glass and blood they started toward where they thought the nearest town would be. The car started to smoke and they stopped along the deserted highway. The driver told one of the girls and his friend to run to the nearest house to get help. The driver would stay with the other passenger who had not regained consciousness, while they went for help. He held the girl and checked her pulse realizing she was gone.

That was the beginning of the story a young man shared with our students today. He has just recently been released from a treatment center which was part of the sentence he received for his role as an impaired driver in a fatal car crash. The rest of his sentence includes three hundred hours of community service part of which has to be presenting his story to students and young people across the state. Today was the first time he has presented his story outside of the courtroom and treatment center. In addition to community service he is required to pay $16,000 in restitution and will remain on adult probation for six years. If he gets in to trouble during his probation period he could go to jail for up to 20 years.

FCCLA members Destiny and Kayla try out the seat belt enforcer. It simulates an abrupt stop at 10 miles per hour. Hang on Destiny!

Three Forks Student tries to navigate the obstacle course while wearing impaired driving goggles. It looks easier than it is...she has knocked over two cones and has barely started the course.

Our Act Out Loud Team took our project on the road this week, visiting the North Dakota State FCCLA Conference in Bismarck. Students presented an impaired driving workshop to 120 members from across North Dakota. The workshop opened with an activity asking all participants to stand then as different distracted or unsafe driving activities were mentioned audience members were asked to sit down. For instance, if the participant had not worn their seatbelt while driving or riding in a car in the last month they had to sit down. It only took five questions to have only one audience member left standing. That audience member received a Take Five bar and was deemed the safest driver in the audience.
After the introductory activity we presented project ideas and ways FCCLA chapters can work on teen driving safety in their own communities, we distributed grant opportunities and unveiled our new song related to impaired driving. Stay tuned for our music video an original song written and performed by local high school student Luke and Emmet. Audience members then participated in four games using the impaired driving goggles we purchased. The games included sobriety tests, obstacle course, bean bag toss and consequences board.
We are working on our music video this week and planning our safe driving carnival scheduled for April 29th. Stay tuned for the link to the music video.

Teenage drivers in Montana can get a Learner’s License as early as age 14 ½ if they are in a state-approved traffic education program. There are certain criteria that teens must meet in order to qualify for a learner’s license including:
· Completing a state approved traffic education program, or be 16.
· Pass the required driver license test.
· Turn in any other driver licenses
· Have not had a license suspended, revoked or denied in any other state or jurisdiction.
· Pass the medical requirements for the license desired.
· Not been found by a court to be mentally incompetent, or an alcoholic and/or habitual user of illegal drugs.
In Montana teens must hold a permit for a minimum of six months before applying for a First-Year Restricted License. A learner’s permit is only valid for one year. During the permit period the student must have 50 hours of supervised driving experience, including 10 hours at night. A driver with a Traffic Education Learner’s License (TELL) must be supervised by a parent or guardian. The law also requires that everyone in the car must be wearing a seat belt, but Montana does not have a primary seat belt law yet. Our legislature introduced a primary seatbelt law this year, but the measure failed. A driver with a learner’s permit may also be supervised by a driver age 18 or older who is authorized by the parent or guardian, so an older sibling could supervise. If a teen driver gets any traffic violations for alcohol or drug offenses in the six month permit period they have to start the process over with six more months of supervised driving.
Teens may apply for Step 2, a First – Year Restricted License when they have successfully met the requirements for Step one. In Step 2 teen drivers must pay the fees to acquire a license, bring required documentation of age and address to the drivers’ examination, and complete the Graduated Driver Licensing Parent Certification form. The new license has a restriction code on the front and back of the license, the restriction remains in effect for the first year. Restrictions for Step 2 include wearing a seat belt, not driving between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. with some exceptions. Examples of the exceptions include farm related travel, school, church, or specific parent authorized purposes, so basically if mom says you can drive, you can drive. Law enforcement officers may contact parents to verify the purpose for which the teen is authorized to drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
For the first six months of Step 2 teens may have only one unrelated passenger under the age of 18 in the car. For the second six months of the Restricted License the teen driver may only have three unrelated passengers under 18 in the car. Violations to Step 2 restrictions result in community service hours and suspension of the teen’s license for six months. After First Year Restricted License restrictions automatically end on the date indicated on the back of the license, or when the individual turns 18, whichever is first. Step 3 licenses have full privileges in Montana.