Prom season is upon us and Lexington-Richland School District Five is making sure students are mindful of the choices they make on a fun night out with their friends.

As a prerequisite to attending prom, all participating students must attend one session of Prom Promise prior to purchasing prom tickets. This initiative is provided by the district safety office and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety. It is designed to help increase students’ awareness regarding driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and help them make healthy and wise decisions in the future.

“We are adamant about making sure all of our students are aware and have a better understanding about the dangers of driving while drunk or driving while impaired,” said Dr. Michael Harris, Chief Planning and Administrative Officer. “All of our high school students will have the opportunity to meet with Trooper David Jones and be a part of the simulations used during his presentation.”

Trooper David Jones with the South Carolina Highway Patrol provided students with a presentation that warned them of the dangers of drunk driving and students were given the opportunity to see a rollover crash simulator to see just how risky that decision can be. Trooper Jones also had two students walk around wearing the “drunken goggles” to show the other students just how difficult it was to walk with an alcohol level above the legal limit.  

“It doesn’t take much to impair your judgment,” Jones told the students. “Be careful. Enjoy your prom. Don’t drink or do drugs and then get behind the wheel of a car, and don’t get in a vehicle with someone who has been drinking or doing drugs. Stay safe. Have someone you can call to come get you. It’s all about using good judgment.”

Dutch Fork High School junior Mason Wilkinson said the presentation was impactful and helped him understand the gravity of making poor decisions.

“Trooper Jones talked to us about how dangerous drinking and driving is and also about how dangerous it is not to wear your seat belt,” Wilkinson said. “With prom coming up, lots of people think of it as a way to party but if you do participate in that you don’t need to get on the roads…and if you do then you need to make a plan.”

At Spring Hill High School, Trooper Matt Southern showed students a PSA on distracted driving during his presentation along with a car that was damaged in a wreck. Junior Kourtney Dunlap said the images from the presentation are something that will stick with her.

“That could be anyone’s car out there and people can be so reckless and take driving for granted,” Dunlap said. “I think it is a great idea for troopers to come to the district to share this information because people don’t think about the things that could happen on the roadways on a day to day basis.”

“At the end of the day we want zero fatalities on the roadways, so whatever we have to do to reach that goal is what we are going to do,” Jones said. “All too often we’re seeing young inexperienced drivers making poor decisions that results in serious injury or death. It’s something that as troopers we live with every day and it’s something that the victim’s parents live with grieving the loss of their son or daughter, so for us if we can prevent it we’re going to do everything in our resources to make sure that happens.”