Prom limo advice

March 10, 2003

Except for a brief respite Saturday, chilly weather persists in hanging on in the Tuscarawas Valley, but spring will arrive with all its related activities – including high school proms. Teen driver car crashes remain the leading cause of permanent injury and fatalities in youth, and many safety officials fear prom night as the evening of greatest risk.

Gary Direnfeld, executive director of the I Promise program, a teen safe driving initiative, suggests that parents simply remove the thought of driving from their teen’s mind. He offers a few alternatives. “Teens can take the bus, organize car pools with parents or use a limousine service,” says Direnfeld.

Some schools are concerned, though, that if teens use a limousine service, they may be more prone to drinking and carousing. But Direnfeld advises, “Limousine services have big dollars tied up in their vehicles and do not want to see them abused by partying teens.”

He adds that when using a limousine service, parents include these rules to reduce risk:

— No booze in the limousine. All packages are inspected and go into the trunk of the vehicle.

— The privacy screen remains open at all times to allow supervision by the driver.

— Parents and passengers sign a contract allowing the driver to phone the parents if booze or even the smell of booze is detected.

— Each parent of a teen passenger provides a phone or cell-phone contact number.

— Only teens registered as passengers are allowed transportation in the limousine.

I Promise has made a limousine contract available for parents to use with their teens and the limousine service on the prom night. It is available for free on the organization’s Web site, www.ipromiseprogram.com .

The prom is often the focal point of the senior’s year, and it should be remembered for only a wonderful time. For all the other days of the year, parents should consider an annual safe driving agreement.

Direnfeld likes to remind parents that safe driving begins with them as role models and next with the expectations they set out for their teens.

“You didn’t let them touch the stove, and you certainly should apply restrictions on the use of your car, too,” he said.

It’s not too early to consider the advice.