Drinking & Driving

Someday, you may be faced with the option of drinking alcohol and then getting in a car and driving. The choice will be yours. You may be driving alone, or perhaps youll have some friends along with you. What will you decide to do?


Zero tolerance

It is illegal in every state for persons under the age of 21 to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages.

Zero tolerance laws make it illegal for people under 21 to drive with any measurable amount (maximum of .02 Blood Alcohol Count) of alcohol in their bodies because its illegal for them to drink in the first place. One beer can give a teen a .02 BAC on a BreathalyzerTest. In some states, thats enough for anyone under 21 to lose their drivers license and be subject to a fine.


How to help a friend who wants to drink and drive:

• Take their car keys
• Offer to drive
• Call a cab
• If they get in their car and drive away, make an anonymous phone call to the police and

report them. Yes, youre snitching, but you may also save their life, as well as someone
elses. Would you rather feel guilty for reporting them, or for knowing they caused a fatal
crash?

How to Spot a Drunk Driver

Are you riding with a friend whos been drinking? Look for these clues:

• Stopping in traffic for no reason
• Responding slowly to traffic signals
• Accelerating for no reason
• Turning corners with a wide radius
• Tailgating
• Weaving or drifting in and out of traffic lanes
• Driving very slow

This vehicle was traveling on an urban street when it began to rotate into the lane with oncoming traffic. It crossed back, hit a curb, and impacted its left passenger side on a light pole in the median, where it came to rest. The 19-year-old drunk driver (Blood Alcohol Count of .09) was pronounced dead at the scene. One 17-year-old passenger was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Two other 18-year-old passengers survived the crash.


Obscure Road Fact

During a typical weekend, an average of one teenager dies each hour in a car crash. Nearly 50% of those crashes involve alcohol. (Source: NHTSA)

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