Underage DUI

Alcohol KILLS when it comes to drinking and driving, in fact it is the number one killer when it comes to teenage deaths.[1] What is more surprising is that U.S. statistics shows that in a single year, 522 children below14 years old were arrested for underage DUI and if that is not startling enough, 113 of those children were under TEN years old.[2] These children are not even allowed to drive, let alone to DRINK and drive?! Indeed, the situation of underage drinking and driving in the U.S. is nothing less than outrageous.

Alcohol which is consumed in moderate amounts may be beneficial, however for adolescents, drinking one glass of an alcoholic beverage almost always leads to more. Alcohol, has a unique effect on the perceptive abilities of an individual, speech becomes slurred, and balance is impaired. And if that’s not enough, many underage drinkers, who think they are ‘invincible’, will also attempt to drink AND drive —a totally lethal combination. An intoxicated driver is less likely to notice traffic signs, pedestrians, bikers and even cars coming on the other side of the road, which leads us to the statistic that 60% of deaths of teens involved in car crashes have involved the consumption of alcohol. [3]

In order to protect adolescents from their own ignorance, several laws on underage DUI have been implemented and enforced. For most states, penalties on underage drunk driving will depend upon the number of arrests as well as the blood alcohol content of the driver. Legal amounts of blood alcohol is mostly .02 however, other states consider .04 to be ok as well.

Determining the blood alcohol content (BAC) is important because levels of alcohol can explain an intoxicated individual’s behaviour. At .02 to .05, it leads to relaxation. A BAC of .05 to .10 can already lead to speech impairment and problems in balance. A person with a BAC of 0.1 to 0.2 totally cannot maintain balance. Then, intoxication causes mental confusion at 0.2 to 0.3 eventually making the individual pass-out at 0.3 to 0.4. Finally, death becomes a likely occurence at a BAC of more than 0.5. [4]

The legal consequences faced by teenagers and, of course their parents, include paying thousands of dollars of fines, confiscation of the car used during the crime, community service, enrolling in education classes for drivers, license suspension and possible imprisonment for 1 to 3 years, among others.

In the fight against underage DUI, the parents’ roles cannot be more emphasized. And for teenagers, you need to understand that in car accidents death is the easy part. Surviving a car accident may even more terrible. Surviving with personal physical disabilities is bad enough, but surviving knowing that you were the cause of another person’s death or physical disability is the MOST tragic. In all cases, you’ll spend your life regretting and hoping that you had not done what you did. Don’t make yourself learn the hard way. NEVER drink and drive.