School officials lie to kids and tell them their classmate was killed by drunk driver

[SandyD]

Here's something interesting to think about:
When I was in 5th grade, (school year 68-69) a friend of mine lost her younger sister(4-5 years old) in an accident with a drunk driver. But they didn't tell us ... the kids ... that the at fault driver was drunk when the accident occurred. It was something we didn't talk about.

I don't have a problem with the public schools trying to educate kids about the hazards of drunk driving. It affects more than just the individual. But there are much better ways to handle it.

[Redsfaithful]

Its always good to learn at a young age that the police will routinely lie to you as a normal part of doing their jobs.

[aerontg]

Any BETTER suggestions on how to handle the task of getting through the thick skulls of teens on the dangers of drunken driving? Why not show the kids videos of accidents, aftermaths, REAL PHOTOS of victims, and "now" pictures of family that grew up without their loved ones? Basically what I have seen in this thread is the moral police coming out.

[SandyD]

The police/school officials had good intentions. But you don't lie to someone about the death of a friend/classmate/coworker/family member.

Show the kids videos, etc, bring in victims and family members of victims, to talk about their experience, and how it has impacted their lives. Is there a way to recreate the reactions of a drunk driver in a simulator? What about showing an oncoming vehicle with a drunk driver?

I really think the intended message will be lost on these kids, because of the lie.

[GoReds33]

That's an awful idea. These kids thought they lost their friends, and classmates. Whoever organized this event, and anybody at the school who thought it was a good idea should have been fired.

[WVRed]

If anything, being that these are kids and the adult influences are LYING to them, I wouldn't be surprised to see some drunk drivers out of that mix as a result.

They always air the Debunkify ads on TV here to show kids the dangers of smoking, but some of these TV ads would make me want to start smoking if I were younger.

Moral of the story: Don't lie or exaggerate the dangers of smoking or drunk driving to kids. Explain the facts and the dangers, and definitely don't try to "bring it down to their level".

Example: http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104382

[Ravenlord]

Piqua High School tried to do this when i was in 8th grade. After the dismissal of the Super Intendent and several other BOE adminsters, the couple of lawsuits for undue mental stress and damages were settled out of court.

good times.