s to one year loss of driving privileges, and insurance surcharges. Two-time violators receive harsher penalties such as $500 to $1,000 in fines, thirty days of community service, forty-eight hours to ninety days in jail (the court may require ninety of those days to be community service work), ten year loss of driving privileges, and insurance surcharges. There are other penalties also: sixty-day penalties for driving in a reckless manner and exceeding the maximum speed limit by thirty miles an hour on the highway and twenty miles an hour on any other street or road. The penalties inflicted upon impaired drivers have increased since the 1980s and have also targeted minors.The supporters of legal countermeasures have begun the battle against minors drinking and driving. Automobile accidents involving minors are leading cause of death among young people ages fifteen to twenty-four years of age, and new penalties have been placed on minors who use alcohol. The new law is called zero-tolerance and restricts the blood alcohol level of minors to .01%. If a minor is convicted of having a blood alcohol level above .01%, he or she faces severe penalties. If the conviction is a first-time offense, the minor will face a thirty to ninety day license suspension, not more than forty-five days of community service, and/or a maximum fine of $250. Those with at least one prior alcohol conviction face a ninety-day to one-year license suspension, not more than sixty days of community service, and/or a maximum fine of $500. The laws have been changed and are directed to deter minors from drinking and driving; however, the use of these laws have been changed and are directed to the police officers discretion. Other conditions left to discretion are: 1. The court may decide to charge the minors parents with the court fees. 2. The minor can be charged as an adult, but will spend jail time in a juvenile correctional facility. And, 3. The law enfo...
