New Drinking And Driving Laws Target Teens
Meteorologist Tim Williams Reporting
(WJZ) There are new and tougher penalties for underage drivers caught
drunk behind the wheel. With the laws going into effect this week,WJZ’s
Tim Williams reports that violators could lose their license for up to a
year.
The new laws are cracking down on teen drivers, enacting a double
penalty on those who choose alcohol before getting behind the wheel.
Jan Withers’ 15-year-old daughter Alisa was killed in 1992. She was
the passenger in a car driven by a drunk teen driver.
Withers feels the new law will have a dramatic effect. “If they know
that combining the lethal effect of alcohol and driving could take away
their license,” she says, “I think it could prevent them from doing
it.”
The new law penalizes anyone under 21 convicted of driving under the
influence with one year driver’s license suspension.
“Traffic’s not going to let up over time,” says Maryland Governor Bob
Ehrlich. “Our kids need to be better at an earlier age and that’s what
these laws are all about.”
The new law was approved by the General Assembly in April.
Source: http://wjz.com
