October at the Block Rock n' Road event…
October 20th, 2008
On October 20th, 2008 EMIG participated in the Rock 'n Road OC event at the Block in Orange. Rock 'n Road OC was an all day teen festival that kicked off with a safety fair of various exhibitors including CHP, the City of Orange Police Department, 102.7 KissFM, Project Path Community Service Programs, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), RADD (Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving), Friday Night Live, and others. The day also included talks from various community organizations including the UCI Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research and a battle of the bands for high school kids in the area.
EMIG's role in the event was taking a part in the safety fair, and our outreach was a huge success. We handed out information on teen traffic safety in Orange County provided from the UCI Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research. We also had community members try on our Fatal Vision Goggles. These goggles cause visual disturbances similar to those experienced when drunk. We allowed people to try on the goggles and attempt various tasks such as walking a line, catching and throwing a ball, giving someone a high-five and reaching out to touch their fingertip to someone else's fingertip.
Well over 100 teens and adults tried on the goggles throughout the day and many were shocked how difficult even basic tasks were. After removing the goggles teens and adults were counseled by medical students about their experience and their feelings about it. Being able to show people how different visual perception was between sobriety and immediately putting the goggles on really made people think. Many were shocked at the change and difficulty in balance and coordination. Its a big difference between jumping straight from sobriety to being “drunk” instead of the slow change in perception that occurs when people drink, and then think they're okay to drive. Participants agreed unanimously that the goggles severely disabled them and they would never want to drive in such a state.
In addition to the hugely successful community outreach, the event allowed EMIG to make some excellent community contacts that will help us continue our outreach efforts in the future. As medical students, we would like to center our outreach around the actual counseling and dissemination of information, and if we can do this better by adding to the events of other organizations in the area then it is a better use of our time and we will be able to reach more people. We are very excited about these new contacts and outreach opportunities and look forward to collaborating with various groups in the near future.