Underage drinking & driving awareness event held at Ballard High School

December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month and Ballard High School hosted an assembly about the problem.  The My Ballard blog reported about it:

Today was a memorable day for the over 500 students who filled Ballard High School auditorium to hear UW Huskies’ tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and group of community members speak about the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The assembly was a moving event that allowed all audience members to grasp the dire consequences that can result of making poor decisions before getting behind the wheel.

The assembly started with the emotional and intimate perspective of local mom Kelly Jones who tragically lost her son Kellen Jones in an alcohol related car accident outside Ballard Taco Time restaurant on April 4, 2010. Jones wanted students to hear the important message “from the heart of a mom” and impacted the attentive audience with images of the accident scene and the response of family and friends to the tragic deaths. “You have the obligation to yourself and to your family and friends to drive and ride responsibly,” said Jones to the students. Since the tragedy, Jones founded the Drive. Ride. Responsibly. campaign to spread awareness of the importance of both driving and riding responsibly.

Liberty Mutual has a great info-graphic about teenage drinking and driving on New Years Eve.  Here's the top part of it:

Prevent underage drinking and driving

December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month.

What is the problem?
In Seattle, 18% of 10th grade students and 20% of 12th grade students report recently riding in a car with someone who has been drinking (2012 Healthy Youth Survey).  Last year, Prevention WINS released a video about how drinking and driving affected one NE Seattle teenager.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• 85% of teens in high school who report drinking and driving in the past month also say they binge drank. In the survey, binge drinking was defined as having 5 or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours.
• 1 in 5 teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had some alcohol in their system in 2010. Most of these drivers (81%) had alcohol levels higher than the legal limit for adults.

Driving under the influence (DUI) is not only about alcohol  It's also about driving under the influence of prescription medications and marijuana.  According to the Washington State Toxicology Lab, marijuana impairment among drivers under the age of 21 is a serious problem.

• One quarter of DUI cases that are marijuana related are aged under 21 years.
• Marijuana is the most frequently detected drug in those under 21 years (including alcohol).

What can be done?
In proclaiming December National Impaired Driving Month,  President Obama states:

Everyone has a role to play in keeping our roads safe -- from parents, schools, and businesses to faith-based and community organizations. Together, we can teach young people, friends, and fellow citizens how to avoid a crash brought on by impaired driving. I encourage all Americans to designate a non-drinking driver, plan ahead for alternative transportation, or make arrangements to stay with family and friends before consuming alcohol. Americans should also know what precautions to take if using over-the-counter or prescription medication. 

Parents, in particular, have a significant role to play.  From the CDC:

Parental involvement, with a focus on monitoring and restricting what new drivers are allowed to do, helps keep new drivers safe as they learn to drive. Parents can consider creating and signing a parent-teen driving agreement with their teens. Research has shown that when parents establish and enforce the “rules of the road”, new drivers report lower rates of risky driving, traffic violations, and crashes.

Learn more at the CDC webpage about Teen Drinking and Driving.

April 25 movie night: consequences of underage drinking & driving

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), "Each year, about 4,700 people die as a result of underage drinking . . .but the majority of the deaths attributable to alcohol use among 15 to 20 year olds are not on our roadways . . . 32 percent of all deaths related to underage alcohol use were traffic fatalities and 68 percent were other fatal incidents, including homicides (30 percent), suicides (14 percent), alcohol poisonings (9 percent) and other causes of death (15 percent)."

In collaboration with Seattle Children's Division of Adolescent Medicine, Prevention WINS is hosting a special movie night tomorrow, April 25, featuring a short video that tells the story of one NE Seattle teenager who did drink and drive and the consequences of her decision.  In addition to her story, the new coalition-produced video follows a local police officer as he patrols Magnuson Park and discusses other consequences of underage drinking including sexual assaults.  The video ends with advice for parents from a Seattle Children's Hospital adolescent medicine expert.   

The video will be followed by a presentation by members of Nathan Hale High School's Raiders Against Destructive Decisions (RADD).  They recently surveyed local stores that sell alcohol to assess retail practices that enable youth to access alcohol and tobacco.  RADD will present their findings.

For more information about tomorrow's event, please contact the Prevention WINS coordinator.