Pearl River High School eleventh - graders eagerly anticipated their Junior Prom event, but while excitement surrounded the evening, educating and informing students on smart choices as well as careful decision-making was key to ensuring a safe night to remember!

This morning, PRHS juniors participated in an interactive pre-prom workshop and assembly – in partnership with RCADD (Rockland Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependence Inc.) and the Orangetown Police Department – centered on the dangers and impacts of drug and alcohol use through an evidence-based approach. Located in Pirates Cove, students rotated station-by-station to engage in activities like Walk the Line, Ball Toss, Winding Sidewalk and mock Roadside Sobriety Tests – each demonstrating the potential errors in judgment that occur when an individual is impaired. Wearing Fatal Vision Goggles as they attempted to complete the various activities at hand, students noted the difficulty of maintaining equilibrium, awareness, perception and visual cues when ‘under the influence.’ With these activities, students learn and understand the severity of their choices as they discuss potential fatal consequences of impaired driving.

You can check out videos of these activities in action via our paired Instagram post!

School Resource Officer/OPD Officer Mark Durney led a follow-up presentation in alignment with the “No Empty Chair: Teen Driving Safety” educational campaign. Symbolizing the ‘empty chair’ of a missing high school senior on graduation day, this program – launched by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee – aims to reduce dangerous impaired student driving. #NoEmptyChair#PreventionEducationRockland County Government