Schools Fight Drinking, Driving at Proms

NEW YORK —  As prom season warms up, school crusades to keep celebrants alive are sprouting across the nation. The aim is to discourage teen-agers from drinking and driving.

As a common touch toward that goal, many tuxedo rental stores have put “safe driving” tip cards in the pockets of tuxes. SADD--Students Against Driving Drunk--is one group that helps supply the cards.

SADD, started in 1981 in Wayland, Mass., now reaches millions of teen-agers, according to a National Education Assn. report on prom night safety strategies.

Crashes Led to Organization

The organization came to life after two high school students were killed in car crashes involving alcohol.

The strategy of SADD is to pass on the facts about drinking and driving so students can make sensible decisions. Members also use peer pressure to steer young people away from the potentially lethal mix of alcohol and automobiles.

“The goal is to persuade more and more young people that alcohol abuse is no longer socially acceptable,” says the report in NEA Today, a publication of the nation’s biggest teacher’s union.

Youths in 42% of Fatal Crashes

Nightmare worries over drinking and driving on prom night are not just for pessimists. Safety authorities say 16 to 24 year olds are involved in 42% of all alcohol-related fatal crashes.

Further, according to the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, for 15 to 19 year olds, the prom-going age group, the leading cause of death now is alcohol-related car crashes.

The scenario also includes statistics from an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety survey of some 47,000 teen-agers in 75 high schools in seven states.

Many Drink and Drive

Main findings:

--Of licensed drivers age 15 and older, 25% of the boys and 11% of the girls regularly drink and drive.

--33% of the boys and 14% of the girls reported regularly driving more than 70 m.p.h.

Campaigns for safe proms under way include some model ones in Maryland, Delaware and Massachusetts, the NEA said.

In Maryland’s Howard County, for example, if students at one school have trouble getting to or from the prom or if they are traveling with someone who’s drinking, they can call SHOP --Students Helping Other People.

“They can call and we’ll pick them up,” says Don White, the school’s adviser to SHOP. On prom night, parents and teachers man the phones.

Students Sign Contracts

The school staff also passes out contracts to students who will be going to the prom.

“With these contracts, a student makes a pledge to his or her date,” the NEA report said. The contract says: “This is a special evening for you and me. I will not ruin it by drinking and driving. I’m asking you to do the same thing.”

In Maryland, as in other states, school public address systems these days offer the reminder, “friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”

Wrecked Autos on Campus

To dramatize the message, the NEA report said, some schools get a wrecked car from the police and display it on school property--a reminder of what can happen when driving and boozing mingle.

In Massachusetts, a statewide safe prom campaign operates through Project BASE--Basic Alcohol Safety Education.

“Keep the Party Alive . . . Don’t Drink and Drive” is the slogan. A prom package from BASE includes discounts on limousine and tuxedo rentals, free flowers, responsible drinking tips, buttons for the students, and posters and publicity for participating schools.

“A limousine driver picks up the students, drives them to the prom and drives them home,” the NEA report said. “Project BASE is funded by the Highway Safety Bureau, with cooperation from florists and limousine and tuxedo rental concerns.

Meanwhile, a national “Drunk Driving: Operation Prom-Graduation” crusade is supported by trade groups including broadcasters, car dealers, florists and restaurateurs.