Zero Tolerance Laws And Penalties

Zero Tolerance laws prohibit drivers under the age of 21 from operating a motor vehicle if they have any alcohol whatsoever in their system. There are two components to these laws.

Illegal And Administrative Per Se Laws

The first component is Illegal Per Se Laws. These laws make it illegal for a driver to drive a motor vehicle if they have a blood or alcohol concentration at a specific level. For drivers over the age of 21, this legal limit is typically .08. However, because of Zero Tolerance laws, minors under the age of 21 are breaking the law with a BAC of as little as .01 or .02 percent.

The other part of DUI law is Administrative Per Se Laws. These laws allow a driver licensing agency to suspend or revoke a driver’s license if the driver operated a motor vehicle while over the legal alcohol limit. Once again, if the driver is under the age of 21, his/her license will be suspended even if they only had one drink before they drove.

Penalties Of Drinking Under The Legal Age

There are other laws that were designed to reduce drinking for people under the age of 21, for example, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (sometimes known as MLDA) Laws. These laws prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing, possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages. It is also illegal for minors to misrepresent their age in order to obtain alcoholic beverages.

DUI laws are stringent, especially for zero tolerance.
Although every state has an MLDA law, some states do not make it illegal for people under the age of 21 to consume alcohol. Most states also allow persons under 21 to posses and drink alcohol for religious purposes.