Save a life, celebrate graduation responsibly

It’s a message worth repeating during this graduation season: Don’t drink and drive, or accept a ride from someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Everyone knows how important is it to keep teens and partygoers safe. It’s the right thing to do and it’s the law.

Having a plan in place for your child’s graduation party is key. Figure out all ways alcohol can enter and exit your home, then block all access points.

Do you have a big cooler or refrigerator in your garage, or located outside your kitchen? Have a plan for those areas of your home too. Before your party, block off unused areas of the home by locking rooms or place a padlock on your extra refrigerator or cooler. Outside the home, water bottles and backpacks are other ways teens can transport alcohol from one place to another.

Graduation time is fun and festive, but also presents an opportunity for youth to push boundaries and try to be adults. Graduating teens want to try new things and assert their independence. Even so, parents still need to step up and be parents. It’s crucial to stay firm as a parent, even if your child is nearly out of the house.

Here’s just one reason why: the story of Texas teen Bryce Kennedy, as shown on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) website. Bryce died in a car crash on Oct. 1, 2006 at the age of 19. He rode with a driver who was drinking.

The Kennedy family shared their story with MADD in a letter addressed to the graduating class of 2016.

Bryan’s parents spoke to him before he went out that night about safety and good choices.

He told his mother, “Mom, relax, nothing is going to happen to me.”

His family asks everyone to share their message, “if it helps only one.”

“We share our story because Bryce could be any of you, if you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to get into the car with someone who has been drinking,” his family wrote. “We talk about choices because you make that choice, nobody else. Remember the choices that you make not only affect you, they affect those around you.”

If you do decide to have a party and serve alcohol, MADD suggests the following tips:

• Plan activities like party games or door prize drawings that do not involve alcohol and engage people;

• Do not push drinks on guests;

• Serve food to keep guests from drinking on an empty stomach;

• Avoid too many salty snacks because they make people thirsty and drink more;

• Offer non-alcoholic beverages or mocktails for non-drinking designated drivers and others who do not drink alcohol;

• Do not serve alcohol to someone younger than 21 and do not ask a minor to serve alcohol at parties;

• Keep the number of a taxi service handy for guests who can’t drive safely;

• Party hosts should stay within their limits to ensure guests stay within theirs.

Another step some parents have taken is a “Parent-Teen Driving Agreement,” as found online at www.cdc.gov/parentsarethekey/agreement. This agreement appears helpful and details how a teen will obey the rules of the road, stay focused on driving, follow laws about drugs and alcohol, and be a responsible driver. Penalties for breaking the contract terms are also spelled out.

We recommend such an agreement because it’s the right step in getting everyone on the same page.

Outside the home, please slow down, drive defensively and remain focused on safety. You just might save a life.

— Editorial Board

Editor’s note: The above tips and a portion of this article were originally published in the Dec. 27, 2014 edition of the Columbia Basin Herald.