The Scared Stiff program in Fresno County included a two-hour class at the county medical examiner's office and the viewing of Red Asphalt videos.

Posted by Philip Teresi, Oct 16, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictCan’t tell

Sources: 3 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 30%

Philip TeresiOct 16, 2026

The only relevant source, an NHTSA case study on Fresno's Scared Stiff program, describes an information session with inspirational speakers but does not mention a county medical examiner's office, a two-hour class, or Red Asphalt videos. The other sources concern unrelated topics, so the sources neither confirm nor refute the specific details.

What was said

… I have no interest in it myself, but when a, when a parent thinks that their kids going down a bad path, when a school counselor thinks the kids going down a bad path, I think that that is the time for brutal reality. You know, we do it with drunk drivers. I don't know if Scared Stiff is still operating in Fresno County, but once upon a time, it very much was, and I was, I was a guest of the program, and you went to the county medical examiner's office, and you had, I think it was, a two hour class, and they went through some of those Red Asphalt type videos. They had a victim who told her story. This young lady had been a beautiful, beautiful young woman who was hit by a drunk driver. …

Philip Teresi · Oct 16, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Context. The NHTSA case study describes Scared Stiff as a Fresno program for first-time DUI offenders 25 or younger, with an information session featuring inspirational speakers. It does not mention a medical examiner's office, a two-hour class, or Red Asphalt videos.[3]

Context. The Snopes and Lead Stories items concern unrelated haunted-house and general misinformation topics and do not address Scared Stiff, so they provide no evidence on the claim.[1][2]

Context. The claim rests on the speaker's personal recollection of attending the program, which is not evidence for it. The sources do not corroborate the medical examiner setting, the class length, or the video content.[3]