DWI Demo is Reminder for Young Drivers During Prom Season

Students at St. Charles West High School got a timely reminder last Friday about the dangers of drinking and driving.

Juniors and seniors attended a program with a speaker from the the prosecuting attorney's offce in the gymnasium before moving to the school parking lot for a mock car crash. Along with the vehicle rescue demonstration, students also participated in a driver sobriety check demonstration.

The St. Charles Fire Department and the St. Charles Police Department organized the demonstration, with help from Cardinal Towing, who provided the demonstration vehicles.

With area schools heading into prom season, the demonstration was timely.

The National Center for Disease Control reported on their website that drivers age 16 to 20 are more likely to die in a crash when they have been drinking than when they have not.

Even though teen drinking and driving has been decreasing since 1991, the CDC reported that nearly a million teens drove after drinking alcohol in 2011.

What factors can help bring those numbers down? The CDC says:

• Parental involvement
• Minimum legal drinking age and zero tolerance laws
• A graduated driver licensing systems.