Body

What you can do about it:

·         Take responsibility for your actions and safety.

·         Make a personal decision not to drink if you might be driving.  Be strong and don’t give in to peer pressure to drink when you’ve made that decision.

·         Do not get into a car if the driver has been drinking.  Find another way to get home safely.

Know your options:

·         Plan ahead – agree on who will be the designated driver among your friends and make it easy for them not to drink (have lots of non-alcoholic drinks around like pop, juice, water).  It’s a good idea to rotate this position among friends.

·         Ask to stay overnight at a friend’s house (if that’s where the drinking is happening), instead of driving home.

·         Take the bus or a taxi home (put money aside before hand or borrow if you have to).

·         Phone your parents to come and pick you up.

Tips to minimize drinking at a party:

·         Have lots of non-alcoholic drinks available.  Have juice, pop, mixes for “virgin” drinks (ie. virgin daiquiris).

·         Have lots of good food available, so people will have something to do besides drinking alcohol.  Especially good are snacks high in protein and carbohydrates such as cheese and crackers, chips and guacamole, or chicken wings.

·         Avoid 'drinking' games that involve frequent drinking of alcohol.

·         Be supportive of those people who choose either not to drink, or not to 'keep up' with others.

Talk about it:

·         Encourage your friends not to drink and drive.  Make sure it’s “not cool” to drink and drive.

·         Talk to your sister and/or brother about the dangers of drinking and driving.  Educate younger youth about the hazards of drinking and driving before they are old enough (or tempted) to do it.