Volume 2, Number 1 - October/November 1998

The role that young people play in the issue of impaired driving is not limited to being part of the problem; they can also be part of the solution. In September, NHTSA, MADD, and the Coalition to Stop Teen Alcohol & Drugged Driving kicked off a campaign in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to publicize Texas's Zero Tolerance law. Activities included a "Chalk It Up" program in which students illustrated, with chalk drawings on sidewalks near schools, the consequences of impaired driving. In addition, members of MADD's Youth In Action (YIA) briefed area police chiefs on the importance of enforcing the Zero Tolerance law. Bobby Heard, MADD's national director of youth programs, believes that many young people need to be educated about impaired driving and Zero Tolerance. Heard says, "Through the YIA program and campaigns such as 'Chalk It Up,' we are encouraging teens to get involved in saving the lives of other teens." The effort in Dallas-Fort Worth, and particularly the involvement of MADD's YIA team, will serve as a model for a National Zero Tolerance Awareness and Educational Initiative.

Safe Communities programs are also finding youth to be valuable partners in the struggle against impaired driving. Becky Byzewski, coordinator of the Southwest Coalition of Safe Communities in North Dakota, thinks that "it is important to have young people involved in efforts to reduce underage drinking. They see the problem in a different light than do adults. A lot of us have forgotten what being a teenager is like. We forget about the peer pressure to drink. And things have changed since we went to high school. If we don't listen to our young people, we are not going to be able to effectively address the problem of underage drinking." The Southwest Coalition is working with students at Dickinson State University and local high schools on impaired driving and Zero Tolerance. Byzewski reports that their peer education program has been especially well-received. In this program, an older student discusses impaired driving with a younger student. As a final activity, friendship bracelets are exchanged as an ongoing reminder of the lessons learned.

Byzewski also believes that parents and youth need to be educated on the financial consequences of Zero Tolerance. The cost of a young person's automobile insurance triples after his or her first impaired driving offense-and can be terminated after the second. The Southwest Coalition has estimated the cost of a first impaired driving offense by a young person (in a situation in which there is no collision and no one has been injured) to be $3,000 in court costs, fines, and increased insurance. The cost of a second offense rises to $6,000. The cost of a third offense is $15,000. After a crash in which someone is killed or injured, the resulting lawsuits and medical expenses can endanger a family's financial assets.

Impaired driving by young people has decreased in North Dakota over the last year. Byzewski attributes this to the Zero Tolerance law and its surrounding publicity. She says, "All it takes is a couple of kids losing their licenses, and word starts to get around. This is a powerful deterrent in a rural area with no public transportation system." Young people can also help prevent impaired driving by participating in a teen court program. Teen courts are diversionary programs, generally operated by nonjudicial bodies such as school systems. They were originally established to reduce the burden on regular courts, allowing the courts to focus on more serious offenses. Although nonjudicial, teen courts are very formal and often hold their sessions in actual courtrooms. In teen courts, adolescents act as attorneys, bailiffs, jurors, and, occasionally, judges. Most teen courts handle first-time misdemeanor offenses. While teen courts usually do not try impaired driving cases, they do hear other alcohol-related offenses, such as violations of underage drinking and open-container laws. Effective enforcement of these laws can deter future alcohol-related offenses, including impaired driving.

"Teen Court is not just a sentencing hearing," says Russell Landry of the Leon County (Florida) Teen Court Program, "but a program where teens, through positive peer pressure, establish a culture of lawful behavior and citizenship." Landry attributes the low recidivism rate among teens in Leon County to the Teen Court and the influence teens have with their peers. "Kids respect the decisions other kids make-and they listen." And teen courts go beyond responding to criminal offenses; they also address the decision- making processes that lead to that behavior. Landry has seen young "lawyers" verbally review a defendant's file and ask such questions as, "I see you want to go to college and be an engineer. Is possession of alcohol something that will help you achieve that goal?" Landry notes that he has "seen defendants visibly blanch when asked a question like that by their peers. They really take notice."

Teen courts exist in more than 340 American communities. To learn more about the Teen Court in Leon County, visit their website at www.nettally.com/teencourt/index.html. To find out more about how your Safe Communities program can become involved in a teen court, see the resources page.

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