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HSFPP Update # 183—Alcohol Remains Teenagers’ Drug of Choice

Message from Bob: As you will read in this week’s story In the New$..., alcohol is the drug of choice for underage teens. We all would like to reduce drug and alcohol use among teens, but experience shows that many teenagers will still drink, regardless of any efforts to stop them. Faced with these facts, we need to let teens know that they are much better off having a designated driver who is not drinking or calling a parent to pick them up. If they’re going to get into trouble anyway, let them face the consequences for drinking only, rather than having to deal with the possible additional consequences of drinking and driving or riding with a driver who is drunk, which include killing a friend or stranger, or even being killed or injured themselves.

Having an insurance agent visit your class (or having teens ask pertinent questions of an insurance agent – see “Activity Involving an Outside Insurance Professional” below) could bring this message home in a way that few other activities would. When teens see the emotional and financial impact of their actions, they might alter their behavior in a positive way. Some effort needs to be made to let teens know that, while we don’t want them to drink before they’re of age, there are worse things than being caught drinking. Teens who overestimate the trouble they’re in sometimes make the situation much worse by trying to keep it quiet.

Educators: As a follow-up activity, have students read the article and the “Myths about Alcohol” from the Web site: http://www.madd.org/under21/0,1056,10057,00.html.

Also ask an insurance agent to come in and talk about the financial consequences of a DUI/DWI conviction. Or, as an alternative, ask each teen to talk with their parent or their insurance agent, using the activity questions involving an insurance professional.

 

Supplementary Activity:

English Class: Based on what students come up with on Discussion Question # 4, have them write a short editorial for the student or local newspaper. Use facts from this week’s story In the New$... about alcohol and drunk driving, then focus on what parents and educators can do to help prevent drunk driving. This could be an extra-credit assignment, and could provide a good opportunity for students to learn about newspaper writing.

Business Education/Math Class: Have students calculate interest earned when investing $1000 annually for 10 years at 6% and 9% interest. This shows the relationship between investing and insurance, and what it will really cost teens to spend $10,000 or more on costs associated with a DUI/DWI. Instead of spending the money wastefully on fines and increased insurance, they could have invested it. This is one way that behavior can hurt your finances. An Investment Compound Interest Calculator can be found at this Web site: http://www.csgnetwork.com/compoundint2calc.html.

 

Web Site Pick of the Week:

http://www.madd.org/under21/

The Mothers Against Drunk Driving resource page for underage drinking features valuable materials for students, parents, and teachers.

 

In the New$... Alcohol Remains Teenagers’ Drug of Choice

by Erin Burch, freshman finance major at the University of Kentucky

Alcohol kills more young people than cocaine, heroin, and every other illegal drug combined. High school students need to know the reality of drinking. According to Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, “Too many Americans consider underage drinking a rite of passage to adulthood.” Dr. Moritsugu says, “Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life.”

“The 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates there are 11 million underage drinkers in the United States. Nearly 7.2 million are considered binge drinkers, typically meaning they drank more than five drinks on occasion, and more than two million are classified as heavy drinkers.”

Drinking is not only dangerous to your health, but in many cases dangerous to others when you drink and drive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quotes some alarming statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: “During 2005, 16,885 people in the U.S. died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, representing 39% of all traffic-related deaths (NHTSA 2006).” Also, “More than half of the 414 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-related crashes during 2005 were riding with the drinking driver (NHTSA 2006).” Knowing that you could be the reason that someone loses their child, brother, sister, parent, or any other loved one should be reason enough to stop you from driving under the influence or riding in a vehicle with a drunk driver. If not, then knowing that your auto insurance costs will skyrocket might help you make the wise choice.

In researching this update, I became curious about how much my own auto insurance would go up if I was charged with a DUI (driving under the influence – drugs, alcohol, etc.). My family’s current annual premium for all four cars is $4795. According to our insurance agent, that could double or triple for us all. Additionally, according to a police officer whom I asked, the total cost would be about $1300 on the first DUI offense, assuming there’s no wreck or injury involved. That breaks down to $500 for an attorney, $500 for the fine, $200 for court costs, and $100 for the mandatory class for DUI offenders. The license is typically suspended for 30 days for the first offense, and six months for the second.

According to MSN Money, “A typical DUI costs about $10,000 by the time you pay bail, fines, fees and insurance, even if you didn't hit anything or hurt anybody.” Carole Walker, the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, estimated that, “If you get a DUI conviction, it will likely affect your insurance rates for (at least) the next three to five years.” If the insurance company doesn’t instantly drop you, she says your rates “could double, triple, even quadruple.” 

You could even lose your driver’s license. Think of having to ask for a ride whenever you need to go anywhere, and not having the money to do what you want. You can save yourself and your parents a great deal of trouble and money by abstaining from drugs and alcohol; or, if you’re going to drink anyway, be smart enough to call a cab or have a designated driver. Besides, you will not always be under your parents’ wings, and I know you will want to avoid bringing this kind of trouble on yourself.

Sources: (1) “Acting Surgeon General Issues National Call to Action on Underage Drinking” [Press Release], United States Department of Health & Human Services, March 6, 2007. http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2007pres/20070306.html

(2) “Impaired Driving.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/drving.htm.

“DUI: The $10,000 Ride Home,” MSN Money.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/DUIThe$10000RideHome.aspx?page=all.

 

Discussion Questions:

Divide into small groups and discuss the following questions:

1.) If fellow teens knew the financial consequences and the potential loss of life, as well as the loss of their driver’s license, do you think they would stop driving while intoxicated? Why or why not?

 

2.) Has knowing a friend or relative was killed by a drunk driver changed your behavior or that of your fellow teens? Or do teens believe it will not happen to them, so they continue to drink and drive?
 

3.) Who would you feel comfortable calling for a ride if you do decide to drink and need a ride home?

 

4.) What can parents do to stop their teens from driving drunk or riding with friends who are? Come up with a list of at least five things and be ready to share them with the total group.

 

Follow-up Activity for Teenagers:                                                                                     

Read the “Myths about Alcohol” from the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Web site: http://www.madd.org/under21/0,1056,10057,00.html

 

Follow-up Activity Involving an Outside Insurance Professional:

Ask your family’s insurance agent what the consequences might be for a DUI/DWI conviction while driving your own vehicle or your family vehicle.

1.) How much would your or your family’s premiums go up? Amount _________

 

2.) Would your or your family’s auto insurance coverage change as a result of a DUI?
No ____ If yes, how much ___________________________

 

3.) Would you or another family member lose a driver’s license as a result of a DUI?
No ___ Yes ___ (If yes, for how long?) _______

 

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Program

http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/hsfp

The purpose of the HSFPP financial updates, video lessons, and Web site is to assist county Extension agents, credit union educators, high school teachers, and parents who home school their teenagers so that they may improve the economic well-being of our teenagers; and also to show educators how the HSFPP, updates, and video lessons meet Kentucky core concepts. The Web site, updates, and video lessons are provided by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and are free to all educators. The list of core concepts and order form for free program materials including the student guide and instructors manual can be found on the Kentucky HSFPP home page.

If you are not already on our listserv:

The video lessons are available only to members of our listserv and will not be posted to the HSFPP Web site because of the timeliness of the information. If you would like to receive our video lessons, which are sent to our listserv biweekly, on alternate weeks from these updates, please sign up at the following page of our Web site: http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/HSFP/response.htm.