Sober Driving Message For Students Goes Virtual As MPI And MADD Canada Deliver Anti-Impaired Driving Education Program Online

OAKVILLE, Ontario, Jan. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Manitoba students will participate in a new virtual and interactive program about the risks of impaired driving, as MADD Canada and Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) take the School Program online.

The School Program educates students in Grades 7 -12 about the risks and consequences of impaired driving, and empowers them to make safe and responsible choices. Traditionally delivered in an in-person assembly format, it has been adapted this year for virtual delivery, complete with an interactive participation portion, to meet the online-classroom needs of schools amidst the pandemic. (The in-person format option is still available to schools where permitted.)

“The presentation format has changed this year, but the purpose and the message is just as important as ever,” said Dawn Regan, MADD Canada’s Chief Operating Officer. “With the ongoing partnership and support of MPI, middle and high school students across the province will continue to learn about the dangers of impaired driving, and how they can help prevent it. “

MPI has been a Provincial Sponsor of the School Program since 2001. This year, MPI is directly sponsoring 128 online presentations of the School Program, ensuring the delivery of the crucial sober driving messaging to thousands of Manitoba students. The online presentations begin today and continue throughout March. They are hosted and facilitated by a MADD Canada School Program Field Representative, and are supplemented by an Educators’ Guide to help teachers continue the sober driving education throughout the school year.

“We are proud to partner with MADD Canada to deliver this education program in a virtual format that meets the current safety protocols of schools, while giving students a powerful and realistic look at the devastating results of impaired driving,” said Satvir Jatana, Vice-President, Employee and Community Engagement, Manitoba Public Insurance. “The message students take away from this presentation is that they each have the power to make the right decision and hopefully prevent an impaired driving collision.”

The 2020-2021 School Program is titled The Wish. It tells the story of Rudy, who is struggling with trauma, guilt and depression after the death of his sister in an impaired driving crash four years prior. On his high school graduation day, which is the anniversary of his sister’s death, he recounts the day that changed his life forever. Rudy’s story unfolds in compelling flashbacks, with students following him on his search to make some kind of peace with his loss, and his quest to fulfil a wish that he and his sister shared. Following this powerful fictional story, students see emotional, first-hand accounts about the devastation of impaired driving, as told by real-life victims and survivors.

This year’s program features a new, interactive short drama, which places students in a situation where impaired driving is happening, and gives them case scenarios to decide the best course of action. The presentations in Manitoba also include statistics which provide students with a stark and sobering look at the rate of impaired driving in their province.

Canadian youth are significantly over-represented in alcohol and/or drug-related crash deaths, both as drivers and as passengers. More than 50% of all road crash deaths among 16 -25 year olds involve alcohol and/or drugs. With the help of committed sponsors such as MPI, MADD Canada is able to produce and deliver a new School Program to students each year to educate them about the risks of impaired driving and how they can protect themselves.

Surveys show MADD Canada’s education efforts resonate with young people. In a 2017-2018 survey about that year’s School Program, titled The Pact, students said: the program effectively delivered the sober driving message (66%); it motivated them to make the right decision when it comes to preventing impaired driving (74%); they had or planned to have conversations with family and friends about impaired driving (73%); and they supported having a similar presentation at the school the following year (97%).

To see a clip of the new program, visit the School Programs page on the MADD Canada web site at: https://maddyouth.ca/school-program/

For more information, please contact:
Dawn Regan, MADD Canada Chief Operating Officer, 905-330-7565 or [email protected]. 
MPI Media Relations Unit, 204-985-7300