MoStuGov
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Alcohol Violations and Driver's License Sanctions

Introduction

As discussed last week, teenagers place a great deal of importance on driving privileges. Unfortunately, underage drinking is a prevalent problem among high school students today. Some Missouri legislators hope that by threatening a two-year loss of driving privileges, teenagers will think twice before consuming alcohol.

Missouri's current "Abuse and Lose" law (passed in 1987) temporarily suspends the driver's license of teenagers convicted in certain alchohol and drug-related situations--such as possession of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle, alcohol-related traffic offenses, fake ID violations and substance abuse convictions. A bill passed last year by the Missouri legislature extended suspensions to those who are found guilty of minor in possession of alcohol.

Proposed legislation would extend the suspension of driving privileges to those under the age of 16 who do not yet have a driver's license and are found guilty of purchasing, attempting to purchase or possessing alcohol. Those individuals would be prohibited from obtaining an intermediate driver's license until age 18. Sponsors of the bill hope that this threat will be an effective deterrent to underage drinking.



Bill Information and Links

HB 1050
Sponsored by Rep. Joe Smith and co-sponsored by Rep. Clint Zweifel, Rep. Brian Baker, Rep. Patricia Yaeger, Rep. Edward Wildberger, Rep. Scott Muschany, Rep. Carl Bearden, Rep. Sally Faith, Rep. Sam Page, Rep. Michael McGhee and Rep. Jason Brown

This bill would postpone eligibility for an intermediate driver's license to age 18 for anyone under age 16 who is convicted of purchasing, attempting to purchase or possessing alcohol. The bill was referred to the House Transportation Committee in early January.

In 2005, SB 402 was passed by the Senate and included similar restrictions to those in HB1050. Although the bill eventually passed, the above section was removed by the House before final approval. However, the bill did create the offense in Missouri of "minor in possession by consumption." Before the law was passed, minors were only considered to be in possession if they were physically holding an alcoholic beverage. However, this law extended the violation to those who are visibly intoxicated and/or have a blood-alcohol content of at least .02.
 

Public Opinion

MADD is a strong supporter of the use of  driver's license sanctions to curb underage drinking. Other supporters of these measures say that because youth are beginning to drink at younger ages, necessary steps must be taken to prevent drinking in adolescent years. Delaying a driver's license is seen by these supporters as an effective deterrent to underage drinking, especially if the penalty is as severe as two years.

On the other hand, some see the restrictions as too harsh and unbalanced. A 16-year old who already possesses his driver's license would face only a 30-day suspension, while a 15-year old without a license would face a two year delay. In addition, the penalty is much stiffer than that of an adult convicted of driving while intoxicated. Some oppose driver's license sanctions for underage drinking violations because they see the two matters as unrelated.



What's Happening in Other States

As of January 1, 2005, approximately 38 states and the District of Columbia had use and abuse laws that resulted in driver's license suspensions for minors found guilty of purchasing, possessing and/or consuming alcohol (conditions and ages for suspension vary among states). Of those, approximately 29 involved mandatory license suspensions, while 10 involved discretionary restrictions. 

A comprehensive overview of state use and lose laws, the conditions under which they apply and the length of driver's license suspension can be viewed here (scroll down the page past the search fields to see the overview).  The report was compiled by the Alcohol Policy Information System and includes all use and lose laws through the end of 2004. Keep in mind that this does not include Missouri's recent changes, as they did not become law until August 2005.



Helpful Links

News stories on the proposed legislation
(Note: Some of the linked stories pertain to last year's SB402 in addition to or instead of the recently proposed legislation)

Vox Magazine--published by the Columbia Missourian (2-2-06)
Columbia Daily Tribune (4-20-05)


Other Links

 Missouri Abuse and Lose Law: FAQ
Information from the Department of Revenue on the current Abuse and Lose law.

Missouri Department of Mental Health: Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Facts on underage drinking.

Missouri Youth-Adult Alliance
An organization seeking to stop underage drinking in Missouri. The website discusses several pieces of legislation, along with relevant facts and statistics.

Underage Drinking in Missouri: The Facts
Discusses the financial impact of underage drinking in Missouri, along with relevant statistics of underage alcohol use.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Youth!
Reports on youth alcohol and drug use in recent years.

Alcohol Policy Information System: Use/Lose Laws
A national overview of state use and lose laws.

MADD: Under 21 Drinking Reports
Facts and reports on underage drinking.




 
Reporting Tips

Why this story is worth reporting

Teenagers are likely concerned with any measures that threaten their driving privileges. Depending on a teen's level of awareness with matters of state government, some students may not even be aware that these regulations have been proposed. 

Even though the legislation pertains primarily to younger high school students who have not yet obtained their driver's license, a broader story on this issue could highlight recent changes to Missouri law, including last year's minor in possession by consumption statute and the suspension of driver's licenses for those who already possess them. 

Awareness of the proposed legislation and recently enacted legislation will draw increased attention to the crucial debate taking place concerning underage drinking in Missouri. 

Interesting facts

Under current Missouri law, driver's license suspensions for alcohol-related offenses are as follows:

If an individual is convicted of any of the following offenses before the age of 21, his or her driver's license will be suspended for 90 days for the first offense and one year for the second offense:
 If an individual is convicted of being a minor in possession of alcohol and is between the ages of 15 and 21, he or she shall face a driver's license suspension of 30 days for the first offense, 90 days for the second offense and one year for the third offense.


According to the Missouri Youth-Adult Alliance, youth who start drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to be alcohol dependent than those who begin drinking at age 21.

According to Monitoring the Future, almost 20% of eighth graders and 42% of tenth graders have been drunk at least once.

According to a report from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, underage drinkers consumed 18.6% of all alcohol sold in Missouri in 2001.

According a 2003 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of all high school students report having consumed alcohol in the last 30 days.

Who to Interview

Find out how many of your peers are aware of the proposed regulations or those passed last year. Have them guess suspensions for various offenses. 

If you know of anyone in your school who has lost driving privileges under Missouri's "Abuse and Lose" law, talk to them about their experiences and see what they think about the proposed measures. 

Talk to local law enforcement agencies to obtain underage drinking statistics for your area. You can even compare those rates to statewide and nationwide statistics (see links above for help). 

Although most teenagers will likely oppose this measure, talk to some who support it and find out why. Perhaps you can talk to the SADD chapter at your high school or a similar organization to see what their stance on the issue is.

Sidebar/Infographic/Photo Ideas

The results of the awareness poll suggested above would make a very interesting graph or chart. 

If you are able to obtain statistics on local underage drinking arrests and convictions, include those as a sidebar. You could create a graph showing the trend for recent years, or you can compare to state and nationwide statistics. 

As Missouri's underage drinking laws are somewhat complex, publishing a summary of the regulations themselves would help give readers a better idea of what current and proposed driver's license suspensions are.




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