Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Seizing Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges

1. Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Seizing Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges Enforcing Impaired Driving for Youth

2. How hard is this?

3. Youth and Traffic Crashes • Motor vehicle crashes are leading cause of death among young people • Youth are over-represented in fatal crashes 2:1 • Alcohol involved in over one-third of traffic fatalities • Risk of crash at low BAC levels is higher than adults • Years of potential life lost and long term cost of injuries are substantial

4. Youth and Traffic Crashes • Inexperience: with drinking and with driving • Immortality: “it won’t happen to me” • Exuberance: risky behaviors

5. Availability of Alcohol • Youth obtain alcohol from: • The family/home, siblings • Older friends • Establishments that sell to minors • Use of fake IDs • Stranger purchases

6. Difficulties in Enforcing Zero Tolerance Laws • Drivers at low BAC levels may not exhibit the usual signs of impairment • Traditional enforcement practices may not pick up young drivers • Some laws are poorly designed, making enforcement difficult

7. Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

8. Standardized Field Sobriety Testing DO NOT USE!

9. Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

10. Walk and Turn

11. Walk and Turn DO NOT DO!

12. One Leg Stand

13. Difficulties in Impaired Driving Enforcement Among Youth • Place (parks, back roads,etc.) • Time (earlier, provisional license restrictions, school holidays) • Driving cues • Arrest processing

14. Location • High school age youth – Parties in homes, fields, or in cars/parking lots • College age youth – Parties in homes particularly on school breaks, on and off college campuses, bars that attract young adults

15. Times • High school age youth – earlier hours, half-days of school, peak time from 10 p.m. and curfew • College age youth – from early afternoon to early morning

16. Turning with a wide radius Almost striking an object or vehicle Weaving Straddling center line or edge line Appearing to be impaired Driving on other than designated roadway Driving into opposing or crossing traffic Slow response to trafficsignals Turning abruptly or illegally Stopping inappropriately Accelerating/decelerating rapidly Headlights off Swerving Following too closely Drifting Speed slower that 10 mph below limit Tires on center or lane marker Braking erratically Signaling inconsistent with driving Stopping without cause in a traffic lane Most Common and Reliable Initial Indicators of DWI

17. Cues • Inexperienced drivers • Young drivers are more likely to speed and engage in risk-taking driving maneuvers, are more erratic and impulsive • Youth drivers have more passengers in vehicles than adult drivers

18. Cues (cont.) • May have other violations (vehicle modifications, noise violations, etc.) • Young drivers have more crashes at lower BAC levels than adults • Young drivers more likely to be poly-drug users than adult drivers

19. Why ‘Zero Tolerance’ Laws? • At low BAC levels (.01-.04), male drivers 16–20 have six times the fatality risk as drivers 25 and older • They have less drinking experience • They have less driving experience and ability (e.g., less able to scan environment for imminent hazards) • After drinking, they tend to engage in risky behavior, (e.g., speeding, not wearing seat belts)

20. Approaches to Overcoming Difficulties in Zero Tolerance Law Enforcement Command emphasis: • Priority in resources and budget • Encourage officers • Base performance evaluations on impaired driving enforcement • Be proactive not reactive

21. Approaches to Overcoming Difficulties in Zero Tolerance Law Enforcement Training: • Specialized training • Include in roll-call • New training when laws/ordinances change • DRE Program

22. What if it’s Drugs? • Certified DRE’s • Courses to identify youth drug-impaired drivers • 8-hour drugged-driver course • Overview of drug-impaired drivers • Over-the-counter and prescription drug instruction

23. Effectiveness of DRE’s in removing impaired, youth drivers: • In a study of 500 DRE cases in Arizona, 10.4% • were under 21 • During a 5 month period, New York State Police • found that 29.8% of DRE evaluations were under 21 • In the first 9 months of 1996, Oregon State • Police reported that 14.6 percent of DRE evaluations • were conducted on people under 21 • Since 1990, 19.4% of ALL DRE evals in Texas were • on people under 21

24. Approaches to Overcoming Difficulties in Zero Tolerance Law Enforcement Tools and Technology: • Passive breath sensors or preliminary breath testing devices

25. Approaches to Overcoming Difficulties in Zero Tolerance Law Enforcement Community and system support: • Enforcement agencies can only enforce to the level that the community will support • Actions of prosecutors and judges • Policies of licensing agencies

26. Multi-jurisdictional Efforts • College campus authorities/surrounding departments • Efforts between neighboring communities/counties/states • Taskforces/Special Enforcement Operations

27. Working with Media • Use media to amplify deterrence • Use media to create and demonstrate community support

28. Information Gathering • Importance of gathering information/ statistics relating to impaired youth drivers by region • Defines problem on local and state basis • Identifies drug and alcohol trends • Assists in formation of Alcohol Enforcement Unit

30. @*#&!*

34. Center for Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Contact Information: • 1-877-335-1287 toll free • www.udetc.org website • Udetc@pire.org email address

35. My Contact Information: • Detective Christopher Bartolotta Auto Theft Task Force Office: (860) 706-5600 E mail: autotheft.htfd.inv1@po.state.ct.us