An innovative program to prevent teen driving accidents is expanding - but finding its expansion limited by funds.
The program dubbed PARTY - Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth - has added Roseville High School to its roster, which previously included Folsom, Vista del Lago and Oak Ridge High Schools.
It will also add Granite Bay and El Dorado high schools in February and May.
The program brings students to hospitals to show them the consequences of vehicle accidents.
It combines the emergency room visits with graphic movies, visits from doctors and accident simulations with paramedics and actual wrecked autos.
The program was initiated in Canada, where research indicated it resulted in fewer driving violations and collisions among students who participated.
It was taken up locally by two women cyclists who were run down by an intoxicated teen driver in 2008.
One of the women is still in recovery from her brain injuries.
"A shortage of funding is all that keeps coordinators from starting more programs," said Kathy Hurd, the other cyclist.
If the organization gets more funding, there are plans to expand to South Sacramento, Yolo and Napa counties, Hurd said.
The programs can cost as much as $5,000 per school visit, but make everyone safer, Hurd said.
PARTY recent gained assistance from Whole Foods Market in Folsom, which will donate 5 cents for every reusable bag used by shoppers - at the discretion of the shopper.
Donors can also contribute through www.partyprogramca.com.
Call The Bee’s Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.