The Sobering Facts

In a typical high school class of 30 students, three have driven under the influence of alcohol in the last month, while 10 of those kids have been a passenger of a classmate who drove after drinking.¹ That means, in the average size high school of about 750 students, 75 students had driven after drinking and 225 students had been the passenger of a driver under the influence in the past 30 days.²

Parents: Road Worries Are Real

Because teen drivers have less experience, your son is at higher risk of a crash even when he has not been drinking alcohol.⁵ He is more likely to underestimate hazardous situations.  Your son is also more likely to speed and to leave less room between the front of the car he is driving and the back of the one ahead of him.⁶ These risky behaviors increase with each additional teenaged passenger in the car with him.⁷

Teens also have the lowest rate of seat belt use compared with other age groups.

Alcohol and Driving: A Deadly Mix

Knowing that teens are more likely to make mistakes, become distracted, and take risks when driving in general, it makes sense that only a little alcohol is enough to significantly increase the risk that something will go terribly wrong.⁸ In fact, your daughter’s risk of being in a crash that involves alcohol is higher than for an adult at any level of BAC. The result is that alcohol is a factor in nearly 1 out of 3 driver fatalities among 15- to 20-year-old youth.⁹ Note that this statistic includes both 0.08 plus (24 percent) and 0.01–0.07 (5 percent) BAC, which is the definition of an alcohol related fatality.

Rules of the Road

Your teenage daughter is more likely to refuse alcohol if it is offered if she knows that you disapprove. Set aside time to get together to talk.

• Tell her that you want her to refuse alcohol if it is offered.
• Tell her that you want her to refuse to accept a ride with anyone who has been drinking alcohol.
• Tell her that you will pick her up or arrange for a ride anytime alcohol is being served. Many discussions are more effective than one. So, once the conversation has had a chance to settle in, get together to affirm your earlier talk by making a contract about the rules and expectations around alcohol and driving.
• Agree on consequences if she breaks the rules.
• Enforce the consequences if the rules are broken.

The “No” Outlet

Telling your son to say “no” if he is offered alcohol or a ride with someone who has been drinking is not enough to keep him safe.  Whereas, helping your son feel comfortable saying “no” can be the key to his following the rules. “No thanks,” is definitely the place for your son to start when he is being enticed to break the rules, but parents know that teens rarely take “no” for an answer the first time.  On the other hand, you and your son could work out some believable excuses for not breaking the rules, such as, “My dad said that if I drink alcohol, he will ground me for a month, and he means it,” or “My dad is picking me up because I have to study for a test when I get home.”

Given that half of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths occur between 3 p.m. and midnight,¹⁰ think about arranging specific times when you and your daughter will “check in” with each other throughout hours from after school to curfew.  Practice some believable things she can say to let you know she needs a ride, such as, “I know I forgot to put the trash out before I left.  I promise to do that as soon as I get home,” or “Is it okay if I stay out past curfew?” Without further explanation, bringing her home to do a chore she forgot or making sure she is home by curfew could be a perfect excuse for you to pick up your daughter.

Driven by Distraction

You may be aware of the emerging research that focuses on teen drivers using cell phones, not wearing seat belts, playing loud music, and other distractions that can cause crashes, including those created by the passengers of teen drivers. Specifically, one teenage passenger can double the risk of a fatal crash as your son driving alone. The risk of a fatal crash is five times as high if he carries two more teenage passengers.¹¹

Even if your daughter does not drink alcohol and drive, more than half of teens reported substance use (including alcohol and marijuana) by passengers of a teen driver at least some of the time. This can lead to rowdy or erratic behavior that can cause a crash.12  So, when you are talking with your daughter, help her to develop strategies for saying “no” to her friends who have been drinking and ask for a ride. Maybe she could say that she is calling you for a ride because she has a flat tire or has been drinking herself and agreed with you that she would not drink and drive. Even if this isn’t true, it can keep her from becoming a crash statistic that could have long term consequences.

The Long Road From 15 to 21

Keep the conversation about drinking alcohol and driving going throughout your son’s teens and beyond.  Occasional reminders can help him to remember that certain rules don’t change as he matures, and the peer pressure does not go away.  These reminders can happen in many times and places: a casual conversation in the car, after a TV program where people are drinking, or passing a billboard that conveys the pleasure but not the consequences of using alcohol.

Sources

Additional Resources

Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet.

A Guide to Understanding Blood Alcohol Concentration and Alcohol Impairment.