POLICE: Underage Drinking, Driving Begins Increasing Around Graduation

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom knows all too well the toll that drinking and driving can take: His mother was crippled after her car was struck by a 15-year-old drunk driver.

Which is why Backstrom personally attends many of the mock car crashes held for Dakota County high school students in the spring. It's no coincidence that those elaborate accident reconstructions are staged in April and May. Anecdotally, Backstrom said, the number of alcohol-related accidents involving underage drinkers increases just after high school graduation in the late spring.

“Every year, we see an increase in these issues around major high school events, like prom and graduation, so it’s a concern in the springtime,” Backstrom said.

With that in mind, area law enforcement agencies are gearing up for graduation-night celebrations around Minnesota, which often means underage drinking and driving—and potentially serious consequences.

“A lot of kids don’t think anything bad is going to happen to them—it’s always somebody else,” said Sgt. Mark Hlady of the Rice County Sheriff’s office. “They need a reminder that things can happen in an instant.”

While most county sheriffs—and the —don’t step up patrols specifically to coincide with graduation nights, they’re aware that underage drinking and DUIs are likely when new graduates and friends get together to celebrate.

“We are not adding any officers to the road for [the graduation party season],” said , director of Richfield Public Safety. “[However], those that are out there are very alert to drunk driving and aggressively enforce the DWI laws. “

Fritz also added that the drinking that happens at graduation parties is largely the result of parents allowing it in their homes.

“[Parents] think they have some measure of control when it is in the home,” Fritz said. “However, it only makes the situation worse. It gives the wrong message. Parents should adopt a zero tolerance to underage drinking at home or anywhere else. And even when kids are 21, they should have a zero tolerance for drinking and driving.”

Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows agrees and said the most effective tool a parent has is communication.

“It’s important to know where your kids are going, and if they’re going to a party,” Bellows said. “And if a kid does drink, make sure there’s a safety net, that he or she can call home and get a ride. I’m not sanctioning underage drinking—it’s still wrong—but we have to drive home the idea that drinking and driving don’t mix.”

Ultimately, Bellows said, parents and teens should be aware of the consequences of their actions.

“Graduation should be a time of celebration, and we don’t want to see it turn into a time of tragedy,” he said. “We deal with this very, very seriously.”

Fortunately, Fritz said Richfield has not had a death related to graduation drinkning in his more than 30 years with the department.

Drunk Driving Statistics*

• In 2009, there were five alcohol-related traffic deaths and 2,337 DWIs recorded in Dakota County.
• The total cost of alcohol-related deaths in 2009 in Dakota County was $6.5 million.
• From 2007 to 2009, 33 people were seriously injured in alcohol-related crashes in Dakota County.
• There were 32,756 impaired driving incidents in 2009 in Minnesota. This number represents an 8 percent decrease over the previous year. Drivers under the age of 21 accounted for 8 percent of those incidents.
• There were 141 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2009 in Minnesota.
• People who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who wait until age 21. Each additional year of delayed drinking onset reduces the probability of alcohol dependence by 14 percent.

*Statistics courtesy of the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety and the Dakota County Attorney's office.