Pre-prom programs emphasize good decision-making

There was no need to shush students at Franklin Regional Senior High School on Thursday morning, when officials from the Westmoreland County coroner’s office were showing the graphic results of what can happen when an impaired driver is in a crash.

“It was very impactful,” said Elissa DeLuca, 17, co-president of the high school’s Students Against Destructive Decisions chapter, which worked with local police and emergency responders to organize the program. “You hear stories about people driving under the influence and crashing, but so many people just think ‘Oh, that’ll never happen to me.’ But it’s so different to actually see it.”

Rain on Thursday morning forced the presentation indoors, and emergency officials were not able to show students a mock car crash as originally intended. But the Franklin Regional Thespians Club performed a scene illustrating the dangers of bad decisions on prom night.

For a district that has not held a recent program on avoiding bad prom-night decisions, however, SADD members felt it was effective.

“We haven’t done it for a couple of years,” DeLuca said. “Sometimes people forget how important it is.”

Just a few of the more sobering statistics involving teen drinking:

• Roughly 25% of car crashes involving teens include an underage driver who has been drinking, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

• A 2014 survey by AAA of teens ages 16 to 19 found that between 31 and 41% of teens said it was likely they or their friends would use alcohol or other drugs on prom night.

• According to the CDC, drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when they have a blood-alcohol concentration of .08%, as opposed to driving sober.

“People make so many stupid decisions at prom time, and it’s just important to remember,” said SADD co-president and junior Olivia Kukura, 17. “When you’re actually getting a visual representation of what you could do to a friend, and also the legal repercussions, it really makes you think.”

High school Assistant Principal Ted Benning told students to enjoy themselves, but to do so responsibly.

“It’s heavy news,” he said of the morning’s program. “But the good thing is, all of these decisions are avoidable. People here care about all of you, and we want to help you make the best decisions possible.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 1,000 young adults under the age of 21 die each year while celebrating prom or graduation.