Hugh Gray Contributing Columnist
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_Hugh-Gray.jpgHugh Gray Contributing Columnist

A survey of high school juniors and seniors conducted by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) found that 79 percent of students thought their peers were more likely to drink and drive on graduation night.

“Newspapers, television, YouTube and Facebook are rife with tales of tragedy from reckless driving on prom and graduation nights, yet an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude continues to be so pervasive among our teens,” Dave Melton, a driving safety expert at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, said when the survey results were released.

Yet teen DUI tragedies can — and do — happen on prom night, graduation night and every other night of the year. The obvious consequences are death or injury. But there are legal and financial effects as well.

Crime and punishment

A teen convicted of DUI faces suspension of his driver’s license for up to 6 months. And don’t forget that the DUI may result in a criminal traffic record and an arrest record. From the monetary standpoint, the legal tab for a teen DUI can cost up to $10,000. That doesn’t include higher auto insurance premiums over a number of years, DUI classes, and other costs.

William Piecuch, founder and president of Teens Against Drunk Driving, a Chicago-based advocacy group, says a DUI can even mean missing out on a college scholarship or a job. “Kids just can’t afford the financial side of a DUI,” Piecuch says.

The death toll

Of course, aside from the financial consequences, teens can be killed or seriously injured in drunken driving crashes. Hundreds of teens still die each year as a result of teen drinking and driving.

One third of all traffic accident deaths of young people under the age of 21 occur in April, May and June – prom and graduation season.

Keep this in mind:

Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens in the U.S. Teens are four times more likely to die or be injured in a car crash than older people. In 2011, teens accounted for 10% of the South Carolina population but were involved in 13% of car crash fatalities. Males are twice as likely as females to die or become injured in a car crash.

And there’s more. The crash risk is particularly high during the first years teens drive because they’re new behind the wheel. Without years of driving practice, teens are more likely to make mistakes. Most teen crashes occur on the weekends, when teens are too busy having fun to pay

attention to their driving. Teens tend to underestimate or not recognize dangerous situations. Teens are more likely to speed, run red lights, make illegal turns, ride with an intoxicated driver, and drive after using alcohol or drugs.

What other facts do my teen and I need to know?

At all levels of blood alcohol content (BAC), the risk of being in a car crash is greater for teens than for older drivers. The effects of alcohol are a lot stronger for teens than for adults because teens are still growing and developing. Alcohol-related car crashes make up one-third of all fatal crashes.

Eight teens die every day in DUI crashes. Another problem is that underage drinkers have a tendency to binge drink as reflected in the blood alcohol content (BAC) of victims of intoxicated underage car accidents — on average, five times the legal limit (.40 BAC). Underage drinkers are also more reckless and less likely to wear seatbelts — 74 percent of the young DUI drivers involved in fatal accidents were unrestrained at the point of impact.

Teen fatalities make up one-fifth of all alcohol-related crashes, though licensed teens make up only about 6% of the overall licensed population. Males are almost twice as likely as females to drive under the influence of alcohol.

Parents can play a significant role in reducing the DUI-related teen death toll. Let your teenager know your thoughts on the subject and remind him that underage drinking is illegal. If caught drinking, he could face charges that will affect college decisions.

Parents can also model safe driving behavior, consider tools like parent-teen driving agreements to set and enforce the “rules of the road” for new drivers, and provide teens with a safe way to get home (such as picking them up or paying for a cab) if their driver has been drinking. Parents must stress that there are absolutely no circumstances where it is okay to get in a vehicle with a driver who has been drinking. Go over your teen’s plans for the night in advance. Let your teen know you will pick her up if she needs a ride no matter how late it is.

Let’s help make sure our children remember the summer of 2016 for all the right reasons.

Hugh Gray is the executive director at Westview Behavioral Health Services and can be reached at 803-276-5690.