NCJ Number
73757
Journal
BLUTALKOHOL Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1978) Pages: 65-81
Date Published
1978
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Causes and legal consequences of traffic offenses by juveniles in West Germany are outlined.
Abstract
The subject is worthy of some attention because of the 50,000 juveniles sentenced annually as traffic offenders and the 120,000 persons involved in road accidents. Accidents and convictions among young drivers are generally associated with bad examples provided by adult models, inexperience, excessive driving speeds, youthful rebellion against adult authority, and excessive alcohol consumption. Driving without a license, manslaughter, and inebriation offenses are especially common, and the rate of increase is highest for injuries caused by negligence, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of the crime. The increased alcohol consumption of juveniles between 14 and 19 years old is considered a particularly serious problem for traffic offenders. Young traffic offenders are typically males with previous traffic records and little education. Many are apprentices; they can usually be classified as the average individual of the normal population. The personalities of juvenile offenders are characterized by a willingness to take financial and social risks, a limited desire for achievement, aggressiveness, impulsiveness, and rejection of the adult world. In general, the rules of social cooperation have not yet been accepted by such individuals, and their socialization is incomplete. Sanctions for young offenders should involve group discussions or traffic seminars, as well as behavioral training, rather than more extreme, stigmatizing penalties. Notes and tables are supplied.