High School Seniors Say “Expect Drinking and Driving on Prom Night”

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and Liberty Mutual commissioned a survey poll of 2500 randomly selected 11^th and 12^th graders in Denver, Minneapolis and Boston. They found that:

• 90% of students asked expect classmates to drink and drive after prom

• 79% expect classmates to drink and drive after graduation

• Only 25% say that drinking and driving after prom or graduation is very dangerous

• 36% of students say that their parents knowingly let them attend parties where alcohol will be available

Dave Melton of the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, commented on the surprising attitudes of these soon to be graduating students, saying, "Newspapers, television, YouTube and Facebook are rife with tales of tragedy from reckless driving on prom and graduation nights, yet an 'it won't happen to me' attitude continues to be so pervasive among our teens. Add to the alcohol factor distractions like texting or talking on the cellphone while driving, or the greater likelihood of multiple people in the car, and the crash potential is very real."