NCJ Number
161483
Date Published
1990
Length
67 pages
Annotation
Qualitative and quantitative data were used to analyze the implementation and application of Tennessee's Drug Free Youth Act, which provided that juveniles ages 13-17 can lose their driver's licenses if determined to have committed any drug or alcohol offense, regardless of whether or not they were driving an automobile at the time.
Abstract
For the first offense, the license is revoked for 1 year or until the youth reaches 17, whichever is longer. For the second or subsequent offense, the youth loses the license for 2 years or until reaching age 18, whichever is longer. On the first offense, the court may review and withdraw the order after 90 days. For the second and third offenses, the court must wait 1 year before reviewing the order. The evaluation of the law's impact revealed that promotional efforts touched every Tennessee student in grades 7-12 and that 94 percent of students knew about the law. The same survey indicated that 68 percent of teenagers agreed that the law made them less likely to use drugs or alcohol. Judge training workshops reached counties representing 70 percent of the Tennessee population. The Drug Free Youth Act Forum reached representatives of 80 percent of the counties and more than 90 percent of the population. Sixty-three percent of youths who had their licenses suspended were white males; 72 percent of the license denials were ordered in metropolitan areas. However, rural-urban disparity did not exist in the proportion of the teen population receiving denials. Figures, tables, and methodological information