Now that you’ve read the headline you may be wondering what teen driving safety has to do with the courts. Hardly a week goes by without a Minnesota teenager dying in a traffic collision. I have never seen such overwhelming anguish and sorrow as that expressed at a sentencing hearing by families of a victim killed in a motor vehicle collision involving a young drunk driver. The driver’s family is also devastated by the consequences to the driver. Teen driving offenses have a significant impact on the criminal justice system in terms of law enforcement, public defenders, prosecutors, probation officers, victim support and judicial resources. Teens in Minnesota are only 8 percent of licensed drivers but account for 14 percent of collisions. Once they obtain a driver’s license at age 16 they are given the responsibility of operating and staying in control of an instrumentality capable of taking many lives and damaging thousands of dollars of property. Nationwide, one in five teen drivers age 16 is involved in an auto accident. Minnesota is one of only four states that neither limits nighttime driving hours or numbers of passengers for young drivers. Graduated licensing in Wisconsin has significantly reduced the number of accidents involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers. Here are some frightening statistics: – One in 10 Minnesota teens will be involved in a crash this year. – Most teen crashes take place from 3 to 7 p.m., traveling to and from school, and with passengers. – Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen deaths (39 percent). – Risk of driver death increases greatly with two or more passengers (triples with three passengers). – 2001-05: 369 Minnesota teens died in crashes; only 39 percent were wearing seat belts. One of my guests on a recent "District Court Show" on cable television was Gordy Pehrson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety. Mr. Pehrson said that his advice to parents is to set basic ground rules with their teen drivers, such as the following since distractions and speed are two of the leading causes for teen accidents: – No use of cell phones or text messaging while driving – Mandatory seat belt use – Limited hours of nighttime driving – Limited number of passengers The consequences of a non-DWI traffic violation for a teen driver can be from a small fine or community work service to a brief loss of license. However, the court may recommend to the commissioner of transportation that a teen driver’s license be suspended for any non-DWI traffic violation. The consequences of an "underage drinking and driving offense" (under age 21 and less than .08 blood alcohol) are loss of license for 30 days, a greater fine, jail time if over 18, and probation for one year. For a DWI conviction (over .08) there may be a loss of license for 90-180 days. If a teen driver is convicted of selling or possessing controlled substances in a car, the teen’s driver license can be revoked for 30 days. If a teen uses a fake driver’s license as identity to buy cigarettes or alcohol, their own license can be suspended for 90 days. Finally, if the court determines that it is in the best interest of the child and public safety, the teen driver’s license can be cancelled until the teen’s 18th birthday. A very serious consequence that most parents do not realize is the forfeiture of the motor vehicle if the driver has a blood alcohol concentration of .20 or greater. By law it is presumed the parent was aware of the teen driver’s alcohol problem. Collateral consequences, of course, include higher auto insurance rates and inability to hold a job requiring a driver’s license. An adult (18-19) teen driver involved in a fatality faces possible prison time of up to 48 months. There are innovative programs, such as DriveWright in Wright County, to divert traffic offenders from the criminal justice system into a traffic safety class. This is being extended to juvenile traffic offenders in Wright County. Many teen drivers, and some parents, seem to believe it can never happen to them. But your child could simply exercise poor judgment by riding as a passenger in a vehicle driven by an intoxicated driver. In Oswego, Ill., on Feb. 11, nine teens and young adults were all in one car operated by a 23-year-old drunk driver who struck a power pole. Four teens died in that collision. The tragedy is that on an almost weekly basis a teenager dies on a Minnesota road. If one teen a week died of the flu it would be all over the news. Please, take a few minutes to talk to your teen driver. Make a contract with them to follow the rules listed above. Consider telling them that no matter where they are, no matter what time of day or night, they must call you if they need a ride, no questions asked. Check out the "Contract for Life" between parent and child at www.sadd.org/contract.htm. We don’t want to see you or your child in court as someone touched by the poor driving of a teen.
Wright County District Court Judge Steve Halsey and other judges in the 10th District contribute occasional articles to this column. The district includes Wright County.
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