With prom and graduation season approaching, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-South Queens) is encouraging parents and teens to take the Arrive Alive pledge together to ensure teens can get to and from their destinations safely on prom night and graduation night. The pledge asks teens to promise not to drink and drive or ride in a vehicle with someone who has done so, while asking parents to provide a ride home at any time, no questions asked.

“The Arrive Alive pledge helps parents and teens talk about the dangers of driving under the influence and ensures that teens know it’s better to reach out to their parents rather than get behind the wheel intoxicated or with someone who is,” Pheffer Amato said.

One in five teen drivers involved in fatal car crashes had some alcohol in their system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[1] Further, young drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 are 17 times more likely to die in a car crash when they’ve been drinking and had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over .08 percent.[2] Judgment and ability are impaired even at a lower BAC, and one mistake behind the wheel can cause a fatal accident, noted Pheffer Amato. Pheffer Amato is inviting families to take the pledge with their teens to prepare for prom season and support them on one of the most memorable nights of their lives.

To print a copy of the pledge, contact the Assemblywoman’s office at 718-945-9550, via email amatos@nyassembly.gov, or on her website: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Stacey-Pheffer-Amato

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[1] cdc.gov/vitalsigns/teendrinkinganddriving/index.html

[2] Ibid.