you to do the safe thing because they care about you are giving positive peer pressure. On the other hand, friends or acquaintances who encourage you to do something dangerous are putting negative pressure on you. 

Learning how to handle peer pressure takes a lot of practice. You want to keep your friends, but you don’t want to get talked into doing things that put yourself and others in danger. 

Try using these four steps to help you resist negative peer pressure: 

1. Identify the problem.  You may impress your new friend if you drink, but you aren’t fulfilling your promise of staying sober and being the designated driver. 

2. Think about the consequences.  If you choose to have a drink so you don’t upset your friend, you increase the risk of being involved in a crash when you get behind the wheel. You could hurt or even kill yourself or someone else. 

3. Identify alternatives.  Suggest to your friend that you’ll have a drink with him another time when you don’t have to drive. 

4. Follow through.  Stay sober, and when you are ready to leave, offer your friends a ride. 

## Unsafe passengers 

## You in the driver’s seat 

You’re driving home at night with a load of passengers. They’re all having a good time, telling jokes and fooling around. The light rain is making it hard to see. There’s a lot of reflection on the road. You need to concentrate, but you are finding it hard to think with all the noise around you. 

What should you do? 

When you drive, you are responsible for the safety of your passengers. Sometimes you will find that passengers can be distracting. Children often become bored with long drives and demand attention from you. Passengers may start talking loudly, teasing or wrestling in the car. This is a time when you will have to show leadership and maintain control. 

## Strategies: handling negative peer pressure 

