School police chief offers prom safety tips

Special to the NEWS

SBCISD logoSan Benito CISD Police Chief Santiago R. Garcia has a little advice for high school students attending prom: be safe.

In anticipation of the San Benito High School Prom, scheduled for Saturday, May 11, at Rancho Viejo, Garcia provided a number of tips on how to avoid disaster.

Specifically, Garcia stressed that prom attendees keep an eye on their date or driver to ensure they do not consume alcohol, which slows reaction time and impairs vision, clear thinking, judgment and coordination.

In addition, the school district police chief reminded that there are often more cases of drunk drivers on the roads during the weekend and stressed to be aware of oncoming motorists as impaired drivers tend to drive toward lights.

It’s also important, according to Garcia, to know where you’re going before prom night and to prepare directions in advance.

Also, and to be safe, it’s encouraged that drivers wait a second before pulling into the intersection once a red light turns green. It’s further encouraged that drivers travel on well-lit roads and to carry a phone, not to mention keeping the stereo volume to a minimum to ensure concentration and focus.

In a pamphlet the San Benito CISD Police Department is circulating, these tips and more are being provided to teens and parents, including reminders that alcohol is illegal for persons under the age of 21 and that underage drinking is illegal and can result in arrest, injury or worse. It’s also of importance that prom attendees not accept any drinks from someone they do not know and to discard drinks if left unattended.

Remember to contact your parents if plans change.

In the event of an emergency dial 9-1-1.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2013/05/07/school-police-chief-offers-prom-safety-tips/

4 comments

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    • DelaSera on May 10, 2013 at 9:03 am
    • Reply

    In the past, students would make a cameo appearance and go off somewhere else, Dont know if it will still occur.

  1. I heard many will be going to eat at the island, due to only finger snacks being served at Prom.

    In my opinion they should have held it at high school and used the extra money they apparently had to serve a sit down meal.

    I too will pray that everyone get to and from Prom home safely.

    • Fedup on May 8, 2013 at 5:34 pm
    • Reply

    Glad you brought up this question Zen, same thought went through my head. And at Rancho Viejo, to boot, which is not cheap. But the obvious underlining concern is the safety of the students commuting to and from Prom. Prom is traditionally held at the High School gym, a way of celebrating the student’s experiences in your High School.

    Perhaps the response will be that the Sr. Class had lots of dollars in the Kitty, so they can afford to have prom off campus. If this is the case, they could have filtered left over money to the Jr. Class, or donated it to a peer’s scholarship fund.

    Either way, I hope and pray everyone has a fun, but safe evening

    • Zen on May 8, 2013 at 8:05 am
    • Reply

    Why is prom being held off campus?

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