Underage Drinking and Driving Laws

In 2001, approximately 38,000 seniors in high school in the United States had a car crash while driving under the influence of marijuana and a whopping 46, 000 crashed while driving after drinking alcohol. What is more, an adolescent with a Blood alcohol content of 0.05 to 0.08 has a higher chance of dying under the influence than an adolescent who is sober. At even higher blood alcohol content, the death toll rises to 52 times more for males and 15 for females. With these facts in mind, people should really start taking underage drinking and driving seriously.

The laws on underage drinking and driving are explained under the Zero Tolerance Law. Under this law, any minor is prohibited to drive with any amount of alcohol in the blood. Violators will be intensely penalized. If you are a minor, it is illegal for you to purchase alcohol, consume, possess or even have alcohol in the car that you are driving. If you are a minor who is arrested because of the presence of alcohol in the blood and/or urine, the penalties you will face are as follows:[1]

• Pay a fine of about $500 plus court costs,
• Suspension of license for three months for the first offense
• Suspension for a year for the second offense
• and a two-year suspension for the third and succeeding offenses

You may also be evaluated further as to the extent of your alcohol involvement. Based on the results you can be asked to enrol in alcohol education classes or alcohol counselling. If you still do not have a license, you CANNOT apply for a learner’s permit at the time of suspension.

These underage drinking and driving laws are important in order to reduce any alcohol-related accidents among teens. A study published in the American Journal of Medicine States that the there is a statistically significant difference in the occurrence of drinking and driving among college students depending on the policy environment of a certain state. It appears that states with more stern policies on drinking and driving have lesser incidence of underage drinking and driving as well. Comprehensive policies and their effective implementation are, therefore, good interventions in the campaign against underage drinking and driving in the U.S.[2]