By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
Blake Johnson, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School, plans to attend his school’s senior prom June 7 at a Woodinville country club.
Johnson, 18, will be driving, not drinking. And if he sees someone he knows who’s too intoxicated to drive, "I’ll probably intervene."
With prom season on the horizon, it’s time to think about teen-agers’ safety now, said Trudy Dana, crime prevention officer with the Lynnwood Police Department.
"Parents worry about their kids being hurt by a stranger. But the real danger is alcohol — drinking and driving," said Dana, a child-safety expert.
The latter part of this month and early June is prime time for proms, she said.
And while the event can be a highlight for many juniors and graduating seniors, it can also be marred by tragedy when teens mix drinking with driving.
It doesn’t have to happen, Dana said.
"What has frustrated me in the past was parents who said there’s nothing we can do about this — kids are going to drink," Dana said. "That should not be the role parents should take. If you throw up your hands and say it’s just going to happen, that is not helpful."
Dana recommends that parents get together and plan post-prom events.
"When our kids were graduating, we said no to hotel parties. Instead we held an all-night party for the kids," she said.
"They went from house to house. One family provided hors d’oeuvres, another family provided a swimming pool and hot tub, another family, breakfast."
The trick is to make "other things" so enticing that teens aren’t tempted to go off and drink, she said.
"It takes time and money, but you can keep kids safe."
In Lynnwood, as in other Snohomish County cities, police will be making make an extra effort to keep an eye on kids and cars on prom night, Dana said. In Lynnwood, the Citizens Patrol will be out helping police.
Dana offered these tips to parents:
"You can talk about what happened the next day," Dana said.
"We always kept $50 at home for cab fare," Dana said. "And we always told our kids’ friends — ‘If you’re scared to call your parents, call us — we care about you, too.’"
"We always told our kids, if you find yourself in a car that’s speeding or being driven by a driver who’s intoxicated, tell them you feel sick," Dana said. "It’s a last-ditch measure, but tell them you’re going to throw up and you need to get out of the car."
At some high schools, such as Kamiak and Stanwood, officials plan to stage student assemblies focused on the dangers of drinking and driving.
"The high schools do an assembly for the juniors and seniors every other year," Mukilteo School District spokesman Andy Muntz said.
"It is a simulated traffic accident. It’s quite eerie standing there. There are kids laying around covered in blood, and then you hear the sound of police sirens."
The spectacle usually leaves an impression on students.
But Blake said that parents, police and the public tend to overreact during prom season.
"I think the reactions of the public in general is representative of the few who get out of hand," Blake said. "It’s not like everyone goes and gets crazy, but there are definitely groups of people who do."
Still it’s easy to get into a bad situation, Dana said. No one is immune.
"When I was a teen-ager I didn’t have the assertiveness skills my daughters have. I can remember riding with a guy driving on the wrong side of the road. Now, I would know what to do."
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
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