D.C. teens might get one more requirement tacked on to the list of musts for securing a driver’s license.
A handful of council members have submitted legislation that would require District residents under 21 to take a drug and alcohol awareness class before being legally allowed to drive the city’s streets.
It’s a move that some anti-drunken-driving activists consider a step in the right direction.
But they say it should be paired with a crackdown on underage drinking.
“While it’s good to have a class on awareness mandated, it’s missing that enforcement angle,” said Kurt Erickson, president of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program. “You need the carrot and the stick. … We have the carrot but not the stick.”
The bill will be passed into law unless council members strike it down following a 30-day review period. According to the legislation, a license will be granted only if the young driver takes the two-hour class and receives a certificate of completion.
Erickson said the extra step is similar to a failed Maryland measure this year that would have forced drivers under age 21 to pass a drug test to be licensed. That legislation never made it out of committee.
John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA’s mid-Atlantic office, said his agency generally favors the move D.C. officials are trying to make.
“This is important to do because of what a problem binge drinking is, especially amongst college students,” he said.
In 2006, nearly a third of teenagers killed in U.S. car crashes had blood-alcohol levels above the legal limit, Townsend said.
Erickson said linking education on drinking and drugs to driver’s licenses is a great idea that’s gaining steam because it hits teenagers where they live. Nowhe’d like to see a greater focus on punishing drinkers under 21.
Virginia doesn’t have a specific alcohol awareness requirement for younger drivers to get their licenses, according to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
