CNN says, ‘Be a HERO this prom season’
(CNN) — Prom season is a perfect time to remind teens of the dangers of drinking and driving.
In 2010, car crashes killed about 2,700 people between 16 and 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Instead of increasing the death toll, any teen can choose to be a HERO this year at the prom.
In July 2000, Bill Elliott and his wife, Muriel, were woken up by a knock on the door at 4 a.m.
“I heard the knocking and I thought, ‘Oh my God, my son is dead.’ I just knew. And then I heard (Muriel) scream and that nightmare became a reality,” says Bill.
Their son, John, was killed by a drunken driver while driving home to celebrate his mother’s birthday.
A few months later, Bill and Muriel Elliott decided to start an organization to keep people from getting behind the wheel drunk.
It’s called the Ensign John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers. The goal is to register 1 million designated drivers and make having a designated driver be as automatic as wearing a seat belt.
The name comes from John’s experience at the Naval Academy. During his senior year, John was selected by his peers to be a HERO (human education resource officer.) “They saw him as a great leader who made them laugh and saw the humor and the positive in everything,” says Bill.
Bill and Muriel wanted to carry that theme into the campaign. “Out of our heartbreak, we wanted to do something to honor our son, and that was an expression of his positive nature,” says Bill. “John represents all victims and all the people whose lives we are trying to save, and I think he would’ve liked that.”
The HERO Campaign message is simple: Be a HERO. Be a designated driver. Bill believes the group has “a serious mission and a serious goal which can be achieved by people doing the right thing and appealing to the HERO in everybody. We really like to celebrate the good guy.”
The HERO campaign is active in seven states and partners with law enforcement, schools and colleges, bars, taverns and restaurants, professional sports teams, and state divisions of highway safety.
Billboards, decals and magnets are used to get the message out.
“People see the billboard, they see sticker on the car, they go into a bar and they see the poster on the wall, and they’re going to say, ‘What is this HERO campaign?’ Or they begin to know what it is, which is even better. Because basically it’s a simple message and a simple reminder — who’s your driver tonight? Who’s your HERO tonight?” says Bill.
The group holds annual events like the HERO Walk and the HERO Golf Tournament. Last year over 2,000 people walked on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey, to show their support. “It’s really something that’s captured the support of the community, because everybody has the same reaction when I talk about that knock on the door. That is the knock you never want to get,” says Bill.
The Elliotts hope that because of their message, other families will be spared from hearing that knock on the door at 4 a.m.
