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News Release

04/14/10
Survey: Prom night drinking still pervasive -- and deadly

If you think the combination of an education and scary stories is enough to dissuade teens from drinking alcohol on prom night, think again.

A new survey says teen drinking and driving is as much of a problem as ever.  According to a national survey of more than 2,500 11th and 12th graders, 90% of teens believe their counterparts are more likely to drink and drive on prom night. Another 79% believe the same is true for graduation night. But, perhaps most disturbing, only one out of four teens say that driving on prom night and graduation night, respectively, comes with a high degree of danger.T

he survey was commissioned by Liberty Mutual insurance and a group called Students Against Destructive Decisions. An outside firm polled more than 2,500 randomly selected students and conducted focus groups in Boston, Minneapolis and Denver.

"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," said Dave Melton, a driving-safety expert with the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety.  "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."

Part of the blame may rest with parents:

About 36% of students surveyed say parents have allowed them to attend parties where it is known that alcohol will be served.

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