Newly enacted California law, criminalizes underage 

drinking effective January 2007.

 October 14, 2006

According to a recent study, underage drinking costs the United States nearly $62 billion a year. Published in the July 2006 edition of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, the study notes that underage drinking leads to nearly 3,200 deaths each year. For further information about the study, see PIRE's news release at http://www.pire.org/detail2.asp?core=38213&cms=114.  The study's state by state breakdown of underage drinking costs is available at http://www.iiaaonline.org/profiles.php.

AB 2752 introduced by Todd Spitzer criminalizes underage drinking. When teens drive under the influence, the risk of   accidents increases.  According to the California Highway  Patrol, 1,646 lives were lost from 1995-2005 when an  underage person decided to get behind the wheel after  drinking.

AB 2752 would create a moving violation for those underage drivers who are drinking while under the influence and the BAC is at least .01 but lower than .05. Also, this legislation increases the base fine if a driver's BAC is at least .05 but lower than .08."  Existing law creates civil penalties for a violation of the prohibition against a person under 21 years of age driving 

with a blood alcohol level of .01 percent or more. 

Additional statistics, According to the Livermore Police website: 

Growth of Underage Population

· By 2007 there will be a 33.5 percent increase in California teens 15-19 years of age. (Youthquake Ahead, California Office of Traffic Safety, 1997)

· The number of Generation Y (children born between 1980 and 1993) drivers in California will increase by 6.1 million by the year 2007. (Ibid)

Incidence of underage drinking and driving in California

· More than 33 percent of vehicle-related teen deaths involve alcohol. (California Office of Traffic Safety, 2000)

· Motor vehicle collisions are the number one killer of teens. (Ibid) · Among 11th graders, 38 percent reported driving a car after drinking or being in a car driven by someone after drinking. (7th Biennial California Student Substance Use Survey, California Department of Justice, 1998)

· Drivers under the age of 21 comprise only 5.4 percent of the state’s drivers, but they are responsible for 13 percent of alcohol-related crashes. (Automobile Club of Southern California, 1999)

· The total cost to California for crashes resulting in injury or death involving Generation Y drivers is projected to reach $14.3 billion in 2007, when the entire Generation Y is of driving age. (Ibid)

· Overall, there is a recent declining trend in the incidences of alcohol-related fatalities among underage drinkers. However in 1999, there were 3,518 collisions in California involving drivers under the age of 21 who were under the influence. In these collisions, 100 of the drivers were killed and 130 victims (other than the drivers) were killed. (California Highway Patrol Fact Sheet, 2000)

· Nationally, in 1998, 21 percent of the young drivers who were killed in crashes were intoxicated. (Traffic Safety Facts, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1998)

Related Information

Underage Drinking Legislation by State

Warren County, NY, Works to Curb Underage Drinking

July 28, 2006 News Release -  The launch of Operation Teen Proof was announced by District Attorney Kate Hogan as part of a continuing effort to curb the problem of underage drinking in Warren County, New York. To do this, the District Attorney's Office will be providing Security Laminate Verifiers, free of charge, to the local Chambers of Commerce to distribute to every licensed alcohol establishment in Warren County. These verifiers give proprietors the ability to identify the authenticity of any New York State Driver's License issued after April 1997.

Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry and MADD Team Up  to Save Lives by Stopping Drunk Driving and Preventing Underage Drinking    Miss America’s Platform is a First in Pageant History       PHILADELPHIA, March 30 2006  -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and The Miss America Organization launched today the national partnership between MADD and Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry. As a new MADD national spokesperson, Miss America will promote her platform Building Intolerance to Drunk Driving and Underage Drinking -- the first of its kind in the history of Miss America

NEW LAWS FOR 2006  By REED BERRY, "THE TRAFFIC GUY"  Have you seen a copy of the California Vehicle Code? It’s a huge book containing all the driving laws in California. Each year, this book gets even bigger because new laws are added and others are revised. During the 2005 legislative session, there were 95 changes to the California Vehicle Code for 2006. 'No need to explore all of them, but here are some highlights you may find both helpful and interesting.

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