“Parents Matter” is a multifaceted campaign designed to curb underage drinking and driving in South Dakota. It was started by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, the South Dakota Department of Human Services and the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office in the spring of 2006 after a rash of teenage drinking and driving deaths.
One of the primary legs of the campaign this year is making a public plea to parents to get them involved in children’s decisions and to talk to their kids about drinking and driving.
Packets of information and a DVD movie of testimonies from four South Dakota families who lost children in drunken-driving accidents will be distributed in the next couple weeks to high schoolers across the state, said Pam Teany Thomas, project director for the Drug Free Communities Grant for A.S.A.P. The movie’s message is not about teaching kids to drink responsibly, but to teach them not to drink at all.
The DVD said underage teenagers were 42 percent less likely to drink alcohol if they repeatedly heard a “no use” message. It also reported that, last year, nine South Dakota teens died in underage drinking and driving crashes.
