Tips To Keep Teens Safe During Prom, Graduation Season

• Eliminate trips without purpose.
• Limit passengers. Fatal crash rates for 16- to 19-year-olds increase fivefold when two or more teen passengers are present versus when teens drive alone.
• Restrict night driving. A teen driver’s chances of being involved in a deadly crash doubles at night.
• Establish a parent-teen driving agreement. Written agreements help set and enforce clear rules about night driving, passengers, access to the car, and more.
• Enroll teens in summer driving school.
• Be there. Make sure your teen knows that if they need help, advice or a ride, they can call you at any time. Extend this offer often and let your teen know that you are always available, and that they will not be judged or punished should they need your help.

MADD also suggests:

• Talk about alcohol.  Use MADD's Power of Parents® handbook to talk with teens about not drinking alcohol until they are 21 and about never getting in the car with someone who has been drinking.
• Buckle up. Insist on seat belts at all times and in all seating positions. Low seat belt use is one of the primary reasons that teen driver and passenger fatality and injury rates remain high.

According to Susan Toman of the Guidance Center in Southold, many teen participants in a study called "How teens feel about real world issues," agreed that prom needs to be safer, and that students need to make better choices.

"Regardless, prom is about having fun with your friends, and if you stay away from dangerous decisions, you will probably have a good time," she said.

Toman said responses given by teens in the study indicated that prevention education is paying off nationwide.

Still, Toman said, there are ways for parents to help ensure prom night is a magical night that ends in happy memories, not tragedy.

"Talk to your son or daughter and remind them of your boundaries," she said. "Discuss everything, and leave no stone uncovered; from the possibility of others drinking and drugging, club drugs, and the peer pressure they may come under to participate in this behavior. Role-play refusal skills. Teach kids to be polite, while firmly refusing to participate. Some prevention programs suggest if a youth is strong enough when presenting refusal, they can also suggest to the peer who may be thinking of using by saying, 'Maybe you want to rethink your decision?'"

Toman also believes that teens should sign a contract with parents before prom night; some schools insist on such a contract before handing out prom tickets.

"In the contract, your teen agrees to not participate in underage drinking or drugging, that they will not make any unsafe choices, will wear their seat belt, and that they will promise to call you at different, agreed-to times during the evening. They also promise that they will not get into a vehicle with anyone who has been under the influence of alcohol or drugs," she said.

The parent must agree to be available to pick up their son or daughter, no questions asked; curfews must also be discussed, Toman said.

And, if there is an after-prom party, parents should have the house number and the name of the adult responsible for the party, Toman said. 

Setting clear boundaries can keep kids safe, Toman said. "Parents still, even at this age, have the most influence on their child," she said. "If a child has your support and knows the standards you wish for them, and you supply them with the tools to contend with peer pressure, they usually will adhere to their parents' or guardians' standards."