Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411180048
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STUART ISRAEL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In 1992, approximately 17,700 Americans died in these preventable crashes, about one-third of them under the age of 25. This translates to one young American dying every three hours in an alcohol-related highway crash.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these crashes cost about $46 billion annually, approximately $800,000 per fatal crash and $14,500 per nonfatal crash.
Another measure of the cost is the loss of potential years of life. An average cancer death costs 16 potential years of life lost, the average heart-disease death costs 12. Each alcohol-related crash death costs our nation an average of 37 years of a person's life. Fatal alcohol-related crashes in just a single year, therefore, account for more than 600,000 years of potential life lost.
Compared with any other health problem, alcohol-related traffic crashes represent one of the most significant preventable costs to our nation.
Teenagers in particular are at high risk for alcohol-related highway crashes. According to a recent report, nearly half of 10th-graders and a third of eighth-graders reported riding during the past month with a driver who had used alcohol or other drugs before driving. Surveys also indicate that more than 4 million young people under the age of 18 drink.
With all the information that young people receive about the dangers of drinking, and drinking and driving, why are our kids still drinking? According to a report issued by the Office of the Inspector General, two-thirds of drinking teens buy their own alcohol. A conclusion of the report: Parents and the public at large remain indifferent to underage drinking.
"At least they're not on drugs," is how some adults rationalize tolerating and even facilitating adolescent drinking, unaware that alcohol is the most dangerous drug for youth. Not only does drinking inhibit healthy development and impair adolescents' driving ability, but it impairs their judgment as well, sometimes leading to unwanted pregnancy.
On prom night, one of the highest-risk nights for teenagers, some parents condone and even sponsor drinking parties. Since students are going to drink anyway, such parents say, why not provide them with a place and watch over them? Many parents feel that alcohol is needed to celebrate important occasions, and fully support this rite of passage.
Other parents, educators and businesspeople, however, are trying to stem the tide of alcohol-related crashes among Virginia's youth. They support, organize and provide all-night alcohol- and drug-free after-prom parties, designed to keep our children safe on prom night by providing alternatives to traditional celebrations.
According to a state-sponsored program called Celebrate Life, it's not enough to tell our students to "Just say No"; we must give them an alternative to which they can and will say "Yes."
In 1987, the Virginia Department of Education, in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, began Operation Prom/Graduation. This program encourages after-prom and graduation parties, and provides technical support to school systems. For the past six years, parents, schools, businesses and other concerned citizens from throughout Southwest and Central Virginia have been banding together to provide after-prom parties and an After-Prom Grand Finale event.
These after-prom parties are so much fun that many students like them better than the prom itself. Many students don't attend the prom, but attend their schools' after-prom party. There's always plenty of food, games and music. The parties are free and casual, and you don't need a date.
Hundreds of parents from throughout the area have worked very hard to provide these activities for our children. They work many hours planning, fund-raising and doing whatever else it takes to make these events a success, including staying up all night on prom night to staff these parties.
We always look to athletes and other celebrities for heroes and role models for our kids. We need not look any further than our community. These parents are real heroes and role models in the truest sense of the word.
Stuart Israel, executive director of TRUST, the nonprofit crisis-intervention center in Roanoke, wrote this on behalf of The Roanoke Valley Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council.
by CNB