Melissa James
UT Daily Texan
AUSTIN (U-WIRE) - Traffic and alcohol officials met Monday to educate students on the consequences they face if caught consuming alcohol underage.
Representatives from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration addressed more than 200 Texas high school newspaper editors Monday in a news conference.
The topics of discussion covered the consequences of underage consumption of alcohol under the "zero-tolerance" law.
"The problem with underage drinking and drinking and driving is bigger than the TABC. It is bigger than any law enforcement agency out there," said Gregory Hamilton, chief of enforcement for the TABC.
"To be successful in the drug division, we must reach our hands out to the youth. It is going to take you working with us to address this issue."
The state's zero-tolerance law went into effect Sept. 1, 1997. Underage persons caught drinking and driving face up to a $500 fine, 20 to 40 hours of community service, attendance at an alcohol awareness class and an automatic 60-day suspension of their driver's licenses on the first offense. Penalties increase after each offense.
Susan N. Bryant, traffic safety director for the Texas Department of Transportation, said Texas is No. 1 in the number of alcohol-related deaths involving young people.
"We don't want to be No. 1. We want to be last," she said.
Nationwide, 36.6 percent of traffic fatalities involving 15 to 20 year olds were alcohol related. In Texas, however, 47 percent of fatal accidents involved alcohol, according to reports from NHTSA.
Senior journalism major Alexandra Jojin, 20, does not think that the new law will affect underage consumption.
"I know when I drink, I have a lot of confidence I won't be stopped at all," Jojin said, "so the new law doesn't scare me."
The law eliminates a provision allowing people under 21 with a blood-alcohol content of 0.07 and replaces it with a zero-tolerance standard.
However, the testing devices officers use to detect alcohol will allow some leeway for substances like mouthwash and cough syrup that contain small amounts of alcohol, according to Hamilton.
He warned that persons underage could be cited if an officer smells alcohol on their breath, even if they deny a test.