Prom season is one of the most exciting times of the year for high school students but can also be one of the most dangerous. That’s because alcohol-related peer pressure is strongest at prom time, according to a joint report on combating juvenile DUI by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The leading cause of death among U.S. teens is motor vehicle crashes, and alcohol is among the many contributing factors. In 2008, nearly 75 percent of teen drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving were not wearing a seat belt, according to the CDC.
In an effort to prevent students from becoming another statistic, three high schools along our San Bernardino Line have turned to us as a transportation alternative: San Gorgonio, Summit and Chino. We are offering students discounted round-trip tickets from their origin stations to Los Angeles Union Station where each school's prom will be held.
This year San Gorgonio High was the first to try out our service; it held its prom on Saturday, April 16. “The kids had a great time coming down here, and it worked out actually better than I had hoped for in terms of all the kids getting here and coming right into the station where we had the prom,” said Principal Chuck Schindler.
According to the CDC, teen drivers who are at an even higher risk of getting into motor vehicle crashes include teens driving with other teens as passengers, which is a reason San Gorgonio contacted Metrolink. “We know that a high number of teenagers do get into accidents, and so we felt that this would be a safer way to do it rather than have all our kids travel together in cars and go through the risk of driving on the freeways. A lot of our parents, once they found out, were actually excited about it and felt it was safer for their kids to use the trains rather than drive,” added Schindler.
Students who took the train arrived at LA Union Station around 6:30 p.m. to have dinner before busting a move on the dance floor. ”It was really fun and a lot easier than driving. I didn’t want to drive all the way down here, especially in a tux,” said student Joey Atencio, who added that his mother was happy when she learned that he could take the train. After the event ended, students took our 11:30 p.m. train back to San Bernardino.
Summit held its prom on April 23 and Chino will have its big night on May 21.
Summit High students exiting the train, heading to prom at
Union Station's Old Ticket Room. More than 600 students
attended.
An excited Tyler Washington, Summit High
senior class president, on how public
transportation benefits the environment.
vice president, on how Metrolink is a safe
transportation alternative.
on decorating Metrolink train cars.
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