College Station Police and the CARE Coalition are working together to educate young adults with a unique approach. They converged on the Northgate entertainment district on a Saturday night to teach a lesson on alcohol safety "in the moment."Portable breath test units, a rollover simulation and a driving course with beer goggles were apart of a new approach by College Station Police and several non-profit groups to reach young adults with a serious message.
"When you're in the moment, you aren't reminded of some of the things you learned in elementary, junior high and high school.This gives the 'in the moment' information," said Kristen Harrell, President of Coalition C.A.R.E.
In the moment, most of the patrons we talked to were surprised by their Blood Alcohol Level.
"I kind of figured I would be half that. Especially since I haven't had anything to drink for a few hours, said Andrew Fairleigh, a Texas A&M student who had a breath alcohol content of 0.076. 0.08 is the level at which an individual is considered intoxicated in the state of Texas.
Police tell us the idea is to give the young adults a reference point of where their blood alcohol level is in hopes of them making more responsible choices.
Barry Ivins, owner of The Corner Bar & Grill told KBTX that he supports the event because it promotes a safer environment for everyone in Northgate.
"Have a responsible atmosphere for people to come out and have a few beverages, have some entertainment, without going too far."
Since 2009, the percentage of alcohol related accidents from year to year in College Station have continued to drop. More on Texas alcohol awareness classes
According to police, when comparing June 2010 and June 2011, year to date, the number of alcohol related accidents is down by 31%.