Squamish residents going for a stroll on a sunny Monday (Feb. 13) near Main Street and Third Avenue in downtown Squamish were in for a bit of a surprise.
The screeching sirens of ambulances, flashing lights of police cars and shiny red fire engines took over a small stretch of road in front of the Aqua developments for most of the afternoon.
But thankfully, there wasn't a disaster or pressing emergency that the folks in blue and red were attending to. It was the creation of a new awareness video produced by Howe Sound Secondary School (HSSS) students to help teach their peers the dangers of distracted driving.
"Through community policing we always try and support the priorities of the RCMP detachment," explained Kathryn Hennigar, the community policing coordinator. "So we came up with this project and partnered with HSSS."
Hennigar said that the concept of the video is a car crash that impacts the three lives of young people involved - the driver, the passenger and the accident victim. All three characters in the video are HSSS students, along with the director of the video.
"The video is going to be one part of three components in our session," she said. "There will be the video, then the students have a PowerPoint and oral presentation, as well as a police officer on hand to answer any questions. Our audience is going to be the Grade 9s from Don Ross Secondary School (DRSS) who come for orientation day. This will be peers teaching peers and it's all about engaging the kids."
The three stars of the video are community policing volunteers and HSSS students Avinash Bharti, Harpreet Minhas and Tarjoyt Bisla.
"The whole team came up with this plan and we decided we should do it because distracted driving is killing people everyday," said Bharti, who plays the role of the driver in the video. "People shouldn't be doing this. I see it every day and we're just trying to get the message out."
Bharti will be graduating this spring and said he hopes to join the RCMP one day.
"I'm looking forward to delivering the message to the kids and helping them be more aware when they're out on the road," he added.
After coming up with the idea, the students approached fellow student Map Srithongkun, who is well known at HSSS for his skill in creating videos.
"I've been videotaping stuff for while now and I've done some skiing videos for friends," he said. "These guys had heard of me before so they asked if I wanted to do it."
Srithongkun said the filming was challenging as he was only able to use one camera, but that he was having a great time directing the shoot.
"I like editing and making everything come together," he said, noting that he's attending a film camp to hone his skills later this year.
Hennigar said it's been fun working with the kids and she's looking forward to the finished product.
"It can be easy for us as adults to come in and take over," she said. "But my role is to make sure that doesn't happen and it remains the kids' vision. Distracted driving is the third-leading cause of traffic fatalities in B.C. and this whole project has been about building relationships between the kids and the police and emergency services."
She said the video will be used this year at the (DRSS) orientation day and is considering putting the video on YouTube at a later date to increase the projects potential impact.
