We’d imagine that by now everybody is more than aware of the dangers of drink driving. However, there are always the few that aren’t. We’re not suggesting that you’re one of them, but if you have a teenager that is learning to drive, it won’t harm you to educate them as much as possible. It’s often teenagers that are most likely to drive when they are over the legal limit of alcohol, but ignorance or naivety is no excuse and they may well find themselves in court if they get caught. Here are some facts to throw at them that might help them realise why it’s so important to stay sober:

Teenage Deaths

Car accidents are the biggest cause of death amongst teenagers and one in three of these car accidents involve alcohol. It’s easy for kids to be gung-ho on the roads and show off to their mates, but there can be serious and sometimes fatal consequences. Don’t let your kid be a victim, or a perpetrator for that matter. Living with the knowledge that you have killed someone because of your actions is a very hard thing to do – it can ruin lives.

35% of 13 Year Olds Drink Alcohol

You may not believe it, but the chances are your teenager has been messing around with alcohol for quite some time! Of course, 13 year olds can’t drive cars (not legally anyway!) but at this age they are able to jump into a car with other friends who may have been drinking too. It is just not worth the risk to allow your child to experiment with alcohol before they are old enough – their judgement will be impaired and they will make silly decisions that they wouldn’t if they were sober. Educate your children never to get into a car with somebody that has been drinking, no matter what the circumstances. It is also believed that teenagers who start drinking early are up to seven times likelier to be involved in an alcohol-related car crash.

Car Accidents Affect One in Three of Us

Car accidents are an all-too-common thing, and a third of us will be involved in some sort of collision during our lifetime. It may or may not be alcohol-related, but all this tells us is that everybody needs to be more careful on the roads. This means not drinking (or taking drugs for that matter!), not speeding and making sure we are paying attention when we drive and we’re not too tired. We all have a responsibility to ourselves and to each other to play by the rules – if we don’t then awful things can happen. By instilling this sense of responsibility into your children, you are giving them every chance to keep themselves safe, and those around them.

Teaching teenagers road safety is always crucial; the dangers of drinking at the wheel and taking drugs at the wheel too, must always be emphasised. You must do all you can to make sure your child is behaving like a good citizen, and you must also try and keep them out of trouble. No parent wants to be talking to criminal lawyers and dealing with lawsuits as a result of their child drink driving, so take the initiative and teach your kids the

When not obsessing over freelance blogging, Jenny Wadlow likes to keep up with the latest happenings in the world of technology. She has written an article on some of the expert Melbourne based criminal lawyers and solicitors, who can be hired for their legal services. You can contact her on Twitter @JennyWadlow.

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