Drinking and Driving on Prom Night

Every year prom season leads to reckless alcohol consumption amongst teens. In many cases, drinking and driving on prom night can lead to dangerous situations and even fatal accidents. It is important to talk to young people about alcohol consumption in regards to their own personal safety and the safety of their friends. Many young people who binge drink find themselves doing things that they later regret. This, unfortunately, many times involves getting behind the wheel of a car which can have disastrous consequences. When you drive drunk you endanger not only your own life, but the lives of your passengers and the lives of other innocent drivers.

Prom season begins around mid-April and usually brings with it an increase in traffic accidents and deaths involving alcohol and underage drivers. Traffic accidents involving alcohol remain the number one killer of people between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. A poll done by Students against Destructive Decisions and Drugfree.org shows that 70 percent of high school juniors and seniors expect their friends to drink and drive on prom night. This is a startling statistic that shows the severity of the extent of drinking and driving on prom night.

Miami Beach Senior High School stages a mock tragedy every year around prom season to remind students that their actions can have very real consequences. This scene includes a funeral scene of a teenager and the scene of the fatal crash, all invented but effective. The scene is staged annually by a group working with middle school and high school students to prevent underage drinking.

Schools have placed certain precautions at prom dances to ensure the safety of students. These precautions include random breath screenings, drug dogs, and lockout policies stating that once you leave the dance you may not reenter. However, a lot of the dangerous binge drinking and drinking and driving on prom night occurs after the school sanctioned dance has ended at after-parties. Since there is only so much school officials can do to ensure the safety of students once they leave the dance, it is important that the parent take steps to make sure their child is in a safe situation.

Many parents seem to have the view that teenagers are going to do what they will on prom night. Some parents remember their own drinking experiences on prom night and even supply their children with alcohol and minimal supervision, thinking that it is safer for their children to drink in the house than at a wild party. But getting involved as a parent is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the safety of your child. Checking in with your child throughout the night, knowing where he or she is, who else is around, and waiting up for your child to get home are simple precautionary steps parents can take to help ensure that a teenager makes it home safely at the end of prom night.