The Crash Course NRW is an integral part of the police's prevention work. The messages: Don't drive too fast. Stay away from drugs and alcohol. Don't be distracted by your cell phone. Always wear your seatbelt. Familiar messages, but drastically conveyed in the crash course. The brutality of accidents is shown relentlessly - with pictures of wrecked vehicles, videos, but above all with personal accounts that get under your skin. This should help to encourage young adults to act responsibly in road traffic in the long term and thus prevent accidents.
The events are intensively prepared and followed up in schools. Participation is voluntary.
Since the start of the 2012/2013 school year, the "Crash Course" has reached several thousand pupils at secondary schools in the district of Recklinghausen and the city of Bottrop every year.
Since 2017, a mother whose daughter died in a traffic accident in 2011 has also been involved in the "Crash Course". Heidi Behrend from Castrop-Rauxel gave a moving account of the moment she found out about the accident and how this stroke of fate changed the lives of the whole family. "Death always sucks, but not only for those who leave, but also for those who stay," says Heidi Behrend. She ends with an urgent appeal to future drivers: "We only have this one life. Take care of yourselves and your lives. And if you have a driver's license, always be aware that you are also responsible for those in the car with you."
If you would also like to support us with the "crash course" as a road user involved in an accident or as a family member of an accident victim, see "How to contact us" on this page.
