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Editorial
How serious is Nebraska about teen drinking?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
How serious do we want to get about teen drinking in Nebraska?
Lawmakers are dealing with that decision in Lincoln this week with the debate of what is basically the "nuclear option" when it comes to teen discipline.
Sen. John Harms' LB285 would require that teens have their drivers licenses suspended if convicted of minor-in-possession of alcohol. First offense would mean a 30-day license suspension and an alcohol-education class. A second conviction would mean 90-days suspension, community service and alcohol classes. A teen with a third conviction would lose his or her license for a year as well as requiring community service and alcohol education.
Nebraskans have reason for concern. The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures show that the state's binge-drinking rate among high school students was higher in 2005 than the national average, and only North Dakota and Montana had a higher percentage of high school students who said they had driven after drinking at least once during the month before they took the survey. While the national rate was about 10 percent, 17 percent of Nebraska teens said they had driven after drinking.
Early alcohol use has many hazards besides automobile safety, of course, damage to the developing brain and danger of addiction among them.
And, if the bill is passed, Nebraska would join the majority of states, which already tie minor-in-possession convictions to the right to drive.
The kids, of course, won't be the only ones to pay of they lose their driving privileges. Many families, especially in more sparsely populated Western Nebraska, depend on teens' ability to drive themselves and their siblings to school or work. Loss of a license is a hardship on parents as much as teens in those cases.
We're approaching what is too often a tragic time of year, when too many teens are killed in alcohol-related crashes on prom night or after graduation.
The fate of LB285 will determine whether Nebraskans are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to change things