Prom and grad night present teenagers with significant temptations to participate in underage drinking, illegal drug use, and as a result – impaired driving.

AAA PROMise, a program offered by the Auto Club Group Traffic Safety Foundation, aims to reduce those dangers by providing high schools, teens and parents with communication tools to help prevent tragedies on those special occasions.

“One of the best ways to prevent impaired driving by teenagers is to get them and their parents talking about it,” said Amy Stracke, executive director of the Auto Club Group Traffic Safety Foundation.

“Many teens would rather take dangerous chances with their lives than get in trouble with their parents.”

“If they can speak openly about the dangers of impaired driving and agree on a plan beforehand, it greatly increases their chance of getting home safely.”

The AAA PROMise program encourages teens and their parents to talk about the dangers of underage drinking, illegal drug use and impaired driving. This includes having a plan for a safe way home during prom and graduation season.

AAA PROMise for Teens:

  • I promise not to drink alcohol or take drugs.
  • I promise not to drive impaired.
  • I promise not to let my friends drive impaired.
  • I promise my parents I will get home safely.

AAA PROMise for Parents:

  • I promise to speak openly with my teen about the dangers of driving impaired.
  • I promise to complete the AAA PROMise parent-teen commitment so there is a plan for their safety on the road.
  • I promise to calmly recognize that if my teen should call me for help, he/she made the adult decision to avoid a potentially deadly situation and kept their promise.

AAA PROMise provides high schools with a free toolkit worth more than $200 that includes communication cards, victim impact videos, pledge boards, and other promotional materials to help get this important discussion started.

For more information on AAA PROMise, please visit www.AAA.com/promise

High Schools can order their free AAA PROMise toolkit by visiting www.AAAPROMise.com