Orange County launches countywide prom safety campaign for teens

Orange County rolled out a countywide prom-season safety campaign Thursday, casting prom night as a public health and traffic safety issue, not just a school milestone. The effort, called P.R.O.M., short for Please Return On Monday, pulled in the Department of Emergency Services, Orange County STOP DWI and Traffic Safety Program, the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council of Orange County, SADD, school districts and community groups from Pine Bush to Port Jervis.

The campaign reached Pine Bush, Minisink Valley, Florida, Valley Central, Newburgh, Middletown, Chester, Monroe-Woodbury, Warwick, Port Jervis, Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery and Goshen, making it a true countywide push rather than a single-school warning. County officials framed the timing around a hard reality: prom and graduation season bring a spike in crashes tied to impaired driving, distracted driving and late-night travel.

Pete Cirigliano said the effort was about keeping students safe while they celebrate. That message was backed by Orange County’s STOP-DWI structure, which is built to coordinate enforcement, prosecution, probation, rehabilitation, public information and school and community education. In practice, that meant the campaign did more than post reminders. Local businesses such as florists, salons, tuxedo shops and restaurants were asked to distribute safety messages before prom, while younger students created positive reminders in schools and school staff reinforced them during the event itself.

Parents were also given a clear role. The county pushed a prom-night agreement covering transportation and curfews, a move that matches the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that families use written parent-teen driving agreements. The CDC says motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for U.S. teens, and that drivers ages 16 to 19 have a fatal crash rate nearly three times higher than drivers 20 and older per mile driven. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also warned teens and parents to avoid distracted driving and speeding during prom season.

The Orange County effort came as New York State’s Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee promoted its own prom and graduation safety message, including the “No Empty Chair” campaign. Together, the programs show how heavily schools, county agencies and prevention groups are leaning on one another to blunt a predictable spring risk.

For Orange County families, the message was practical: plan transportation early, set expectations in writing and make sure prom night ends with students back home, not in a crash, an arrest or a hospital room.