What: News Conference to announce LAPD’s 2012 Sober Graduation Program initiatives for the San Fernando Valley to ensure our teenagers are safe on the road. Sober Graduation targets high school seniors and raises their awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.
When: Monday, March 26, 2011
9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Where: Kennedy High School
11254 Gothic Avenue
Granada Hills Ca, 91344
Who: Chief Steven Zipperman, Los Angeles School Police Department Deputy, Chief Jorge A. Villegas, Commanding Officer, Operations-Valley Bureau, Captain Ivan Minsal, Commanding Officer, Valley Traffic Division, Lieutenant Dennis Ballas, Bureau Vice Coordinator, Operations-Valley Bureau, Edward Arensdorf, President, Valley Traffic Advisory Council, Suzanne Blake, Principal, Kennedy High School
WHY: The Sober Graduation Program was established in 1985 as an effective anti-DUI program targeting high school seniors and raising their awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. As spring activities and celebrations mark the end of the school year with graduation celebrations and proms, officers from LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division and the CHP visit more than 35 high schools in the San Fernando Valley in an attempt to re-enforce driver and peer responsibility.
The Program includes static displays and a driver road course simulation. Students will wear “Fatal Vision Goggles” that are used to simulate impairment at three distinct BAC levels that cause behaviors that are similar to behaviors exhibited by someone under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. The static displays will include a vehicle that has been associated in a traffic collision involving a drunk driver; and a photographic gallery that depicts the consequences and dangers as a result of drinking and driving.
In addition, the Program reaches out to LAPD resources that work closely with the Alcohol & Beverage Control (ABC). During the celebratory months, LAPD in conjunction with ABC increase their education and enforcement efforts to suppress the sale of alcohol to minors by ABC licensed retailers. “Our Department’s intent is to make available the necessary resources to ABC licensed retailers to ensure that they are operating in a lawful, safe and responsible manner,” said Captain Ivan Minsal, Commanding Officer, Valley Traffic Division.
For more information, please contact Sergeant Arturo Gomez at (805) 559-9637, or the Valley Traffic Division Watch Commander at (818) 644-8010.
