The secretary's Conference for Youth on Drinking and Driving: special report

Part of a Department of Health and Human Services initiative against teenage alcohol abuse, a national Conference for Youth on Drinking and Driving--held March 26-28, 1983 in Chevy Chase, Md. --brought together more than 300 high school student delegates and school superintendents from every State and Territory. The conference spotlighted successful programs that students around the country have undertaken to promote sober driving--programs that incorporate these key principles: (a) they rely almost solely on peer leadership "by students for students"; (b) they employ a "holistic" approach to health promotion, emphasizing self-esteem and alternatives to alcohol and drug abuse; and (c) they use the resources of the whole community. Working with student leaders of these model programs, conference delegates devised ways to launch similar programs in their own schools and communities and to enlist help from parents, teachers, lawmakers, the media, and business and civic groups. The Department of Health and Human Services plans to hold similar conferences annually, to mobilize future generations of students against drunk driving.