High school students from across the county got to see the dangers of drunk and impaired driving from the eyes of police Friday night as they helped the San Diego Police Department administer a DUI checkpoint.
The students sat through a two-hour class before taking their newfound knowledge and curiosity out into the field.
The Teen Alcohol Awareness Program, or TAAP for short, is in its second year and is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
“It's good for them,” mother Andrea Osorno said. “It shows them what’s really out there.”
Osorno, a mother of five, brought her oldest daughter to the class Friday night. Like many parents, she wants to make sure her daughter is completely prepared before getting her permit and license.
“I’m not ready for her to get her license, so I don't know if she is,” Osorno said. “This is the first one so it’s nerve-wracking and scary.”
Instead of looking at the class as something a paranoid parent forced into their Friday night schedule, students were appreciative of the eye-opening experience.
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“My mom forced me to be here because she's a good parent,” one student said.
Some of the students, with and without their licenses, said they plan on sharing some tips learned with their friends back at school.
After wrapping up at the DUI checkpoint the kids went back to the classroom to debrief everything that they saw.
SDPD holds these classes for free three times a month, year round.
