Prom and Graduation Season

Dear Baseball Parent,

The superintendent of school in my school district and the Middlesex District Attorney teamed together to remind students and parents in Hopkinton about the positive experience and potential dangers that the prom and graduation season brings. I thought their message could be spread to our “baseball kids” and the students and parents in the Holliston community. Their letter is below.

Coach Verra


Dear Parent/Guardian:

With prom and graduation season upon us, we are approaching a fun and exciting time for students and their families. We want to send this letter to urge you to do all that you can to make it a happy and safe time for your teen.

Each year, we lose far too many of our teenagers to motor vehicle crashes, with a dramatic increase in alcohol-related traffic fatalities on prom weekends throughout our county. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for young adults between the ages of 15-20, and the reality is that many of those deaths are caused by teenage impaired driving.

As a parent or guardian, you have the opportunity to help ensure the safety of your children and others by helping them make the right choices around drinking and driving. You, along with proactive education and tough law enforcement, are a key component to preventing alcohol-related tragedies. As you are well aware, it is a crime to provide alcohol to those under the age of 21, even at a supervised party at your own home. It is also important to know that if you choose to host a party where alcohol is served to those under the age of 21, you can be held liable if one of your guests drinks alcohol and harms themselves or others by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

It is important to stress to your teens that driving after drinking any amount of alcohol or taking any amount of drugs could potentially result in impairment and a driving under the influence offense. For those under the age of 21, driving under the influence in Massachusetts is defined by a 0.02 blood alcohol level. This level can easily be reached by just one drink or taking a small amount of drugs and carries the very serious criminal penalties of an OUI offense.

With these dangers, we encourage you to take a number of steps to provide your children with alternatives to getting behind the wheel:

If you are able to, hire professional transportation for your teen’s prom night. Make sure you have a discussion with the limousine driver prior to prom night about your expectations that the ride be alcohol-free. Sometimes these drivers will agree to purchase alcohol for their minor passengers; it is important to ensure that this will not happen by talking directly with the driver.

Offer your teens transportation alternatives. Offer to provide your teen rides or to have a sibling or family friend provide rides on prom night. If your teen does not want you to pick them up, oftentimes suggesting a sibling or family friend is a great compromise.

Provide your teen with the phone number of a local taxi company with a reputable reputation and make plans to pay for your teen’s taxi fare for the night. Remember, this is a small cost to keep your child safe.

We have seen first-hand the devastating impact that driving under the influence can have on parents, families, friends and communities, and urge you to be proactive in preventing teenage drinking and driving. We believe these alternatives will help to discourage drinking and driving without infringing on your child’s desire for independence.

This is an exciting time in our young people’s lives and one that we hope will be marked by the celebratory occasion, not a preventable tragedy.

Be safe and enjoy this wonderful time of year.