Pubdate: Saturday, August 1, 1998 Source: Bakersfield Californian Contact: http://bakersfield.com/ Author: Robin Bailey TEENS FACE ZERO TOLERANCE WITH DRINKING, DRIVING I heard an alarming statistic the other day that made me stop and think. Did you know that drivers under the age of 20 account for 5 percent of all drivers, yet account for 14.4 percent of all accidents and 12.2 percent of all fatal accidents? Doesn't it just take your breath away? It scares the heck out of me. What most people - teen-agers and adults alike - aren't aware of is that driving is a privilege, not a right. You aren't allowed in our society to drive whenever you want. You have to be a certain age, you have to have specialized training and pass certain requirements. I have a_ 15-year-old son. He is eagerly looking forward to driving one day soon. With the graduated driver licensing system in place now he will slowly eased into driving, instead of instantly being handed the keys after passing a written and driving test. My son will have to learn the responsibility part of driving a vehicle on the road. He will have to follow the restrictions set forth by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. He will be required to demonstrate responsible driving behavior in each stage of licensing before advancing to the next. I am extremely happy about that. I think it's a great idea. Another responsibility he has to learn as a driver is about drinking and driving. California, along with 49 other states and the District of Columbia, have laws that prohibit the purchase and public possession of alcoholic beverages by those under the age of 21. It makes sense then to expect that drivers under the age of 21 not to have alcohol in their system. As of February 1998, all but four states have enacted zero tolerance laws. Zero tolerance, that's the view taken when it comes to anyone under 21 and alcohol. Teens value their drivers license. It's a big thing, a social step achieved to carry one in their wallets and show off to their friends. But if those teens even have one sip of alcohol and then get behind the wheel of a vehicle they could lose the privilege to drive. "Officers administer an on-scene breath test and if any amount of 0.01 or up is found the teens lose their license. If the teen refuses the breath test they still will lose their license," said Mack Wimbish, Public Affairs officer with the California Highway Patrol. "And don't think about popping that gum in your mouth to mask the smell. It doesn't work," said Sarah Futrell, injury prevention director at the Kern County Department of Public Health. "Breath analyzers only test alcohol, nothing else, so the cover up stuff like gum or breath sprays doesn't work to hide it," Wimbish said. Say that the teen-ager is driving around and has unopened alcohol in his or her car and is pulled over. Bing. They lose their license for one year. "If you are under the age of 21 and are found with alcohol, it's the same as possessing heroin or cocaine. It's Illegal," Wimbish said. "You don't even have to be in a car to lose your license. Say you are at a park and have a beer in your hand and you are under 21:you lose your license," Wimbish said. "A lot of the young ladies might have these macho boyfriends who like to drink and drive. If they get pulled over, the boyfriend might shove the beer at the girlfriend, who has not been drinking and doesn't have a license, telling her to hide the beer under her seat. 'You don't have anything to lose if you don't have one, he says.' But not only will the driver lose his license for one year, the unlicensed girlfriend won't be able to get her license at 16 because of this incident. She will have to wait until she is 18," Wimbish said. More than 32 percent of all deaths of 15 through 20 year olds result from motor vehicle crashes. In 1996, 36.6 percent of the 6,319 traffic fatalities of 15 through 20 year olds were alcohol-related, according to the NHTSA. "We look at this situation from an insurance perspective," said Michelle Neils, assistant public affairs manager for State Farm Insurance. "We need to do a better job of educating our teens on the responsibilities of driving a car. We see the statistics. It's important for the parents to talk to their teens about obeying the rules," Neils said. And whether parents realize it or not, teens learn by example. "Parents need to set a good example. They need to be role models for their children and don't drink and drive, or be very conscious about their decision to drive. Teens are influenced by their parents' actions," Futrell said. Zero tolerance laws appear to be working. A recent study compared fatal crashes in 12 states that enacted zero tolerance laws for some young drivers to crashes in 12 nearby states without those laws. In the 12 zero tolerance states, single vehicle nightime fatal crashes involving young drivers dropped 16 percent, while in the comparison states they rose one percent. Making any amount of alcohol in the body of an underage person an offense makes the enforcement effort easier, according to the NHTSA. I'm not saying that all teen-agers are irresponsible and drink and drive. Not all do. There are some truly responsible, wonderful teen-agers out there who would never think about drinking and driving. Or even drinking at all. Let's face it, drinking is highly overrated. Unfortuantely, there are teen-agers out there who will be stupid and think they can get away with it. That's where the zero tolerance law steps in and helps the teens see the erros of their ways. "Teens must understand that driving is a privilege, not a right, and that failure to observe the rules of safe driving can have serious financial consequences for mom, dad and the young driver," Neils said. Financial issues aren't the only part of the picture. It's hard for the underage driver to understand since they are new to driving, that a car can destroy property and kill or maim people. Parents need to get through to their teen-agers how important the responsibility of driving is and it's not just mom or dad being a worrywart or even worse, a "wet blanket." This is reality. Ground rules should be set by the parents and discussed with the teen. Setting limitations is not treating your teen like a child; it's providing an opportunity to demonstrate maturity by showing he or she can accept the responsibility. The following are some basic driving rules, courtesy of State Farm, that parents might want to consider: - - Insist that your teen control speed. High speeds cut down on reaction time and increase the severity of crashes. A crash at 78 miles per hour is twice as violent as one at 55 MPH, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. - - Require your teen to observe curfews. This is going to be one of your biggest challenges. However, it may be a life saver, 58 percent of all teenager motor vehicle deaths occur on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Half of these occur on Saturday. Half of all these accidents occur between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. - - Prohibit your teen from drinking and driving. Nearly 50 percent of traffic deaths are alcohol related. More than half of alcohol-related deaths involve 16 to 20 year olds, according to the National Safety Council. - - Know your teen-ager's friends and their driving habits. Discourage your teen-ager from loaning his or her vehicle to friends and from "joyriding." Newly licensed drivers should not have other teenage passengers. More than 40 percent of all the deaths of 16 to 19 year olds result from motor vehicle crash injuries. Most teenage passenger deaths occur in crashes in which another teenager is driving, according to the National Safety Council. - - Radio/cassette/disc players can be tremendous distractions. Request that your teen keep the volume low. Other distractions include eating while driving, combing their hair or applying make-up, etc. They MUST keep both eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel. Another tough one, but important. - - Teach your teen to use seat belts. They reduce accident fatalities by 40 to 50 percent. For more information regarding the zero tolerance law, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a Website you or your teen can visit on the Internet. The address is http://www.NHTSA.dot.gov. There is a lot of great information available here and worth checking out. - --- Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"