If you are the parent of a California teenager with a newly minted driver’s license, you may be dreading these SoCal summer days and nights. A driver’s license brings heady freedom but is accompanied by heavy responsibility.
This is especially true during the period from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day in September. This period is known as the “100 deadliest days of summer” due to the number of teens out driving or riding around with friends during the halcyon summer days and nights.
Fun is fine
There’s nothing wrong with a teen driving to and from a summer job or joining friends at the beach for a day in the surf and sun. The problems arise when teens consume drugs or alcohol to enhance the party and then climb behind the wheel and drive.
Numbers don’t lie
Statistics show that mile for mile, teen drivers have three times the risk of getting into fatal accidents than drivers aged 20 or older. Those odds only rise higher when the teen driver is intoxicated or otherwise impaired.
DUIs derail young lives
Underage drinking and driving is treated very seriously by the California courts. Police and prosecutors aggressively pursue charges against alleged offenders. Being convicted of DUI as a minor can have devastating consequences for a teenager.
They could get kicked off of high school teams and lose academic and/or athletic scholarships for post-secondary education. Dependent on their intended career path, they could see doors to their chosen industry closing on them.
Your teenager deserves a robust defense
If your son or daughter gets arrested for underage drinking and driving, you will certainly be upset. But it is vital to keep your eye on the larger picture, i.e., your child’s future, when determining what legal steps to take.