When your teen calls you to pick him or her up because either he or she or someone else has been drinking: 1. Pick up your teen and get him or her home safely. Be calm and not angry on the way home. 2. If the established household rule has been broken, pick the soonest appropriate time to discuss consequences with your teen. It may be best to wait until the next day. 3. Talk again about the rules and consequences. You only want to keep him or her safe from harm. Tips for Keeping Teens Safe on the Road MADD recommends that parents make clear rules about driving to help keep their teens safe. In particular, parents should become familiar with the provisions of graduated licensing and zero tolerance laws in their state and firmly enforce those rules. Graduated Drivers License (GDL) Laws Each state offers a type of graduated drivers licensing that phases in privileges for new drivers. GDL is an important public safety tool; it prevents about one in five crashes for teen drivers. Learn the GDL laws in your state, and make sure that your teen is obeying them.
Discuss with your teen the danger of riding with anyone who may have had too much to drink. Help your teen make a plan in case he or she experiences an unsafe situation. Talk about effective alternatives, such as calling a taxi or asking someone else for a ride home. Remind your teen that drinking coffee or other techniques for “sobering up” don’t actually work. He or she should not rely on these techniques to make a friend a “safe and sober” driver. Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens (15-20 years old), and 31% of teen traffic deaths are alcohol-related. One in 10 teens in high school drinks and drives. One in 5 teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had some alcohol in their system in 2010. Most of these drivers (81%) had BACs higher than the legal limit for adults. Alcohol is More Dangerous for Young Drivers Young drivers are at greater risk for crashing than adult drivers, even with low levels of alcohol in the blood.
Encourage teens to call if they need a safe ride home.
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