Editorial Board

Iowa State Daily

A “zero tolerance” drunk driving law for minors sounds good on the surface but is in fact highly

discriminatory and completely unfair.

The law sets the legal blood alcohol limit for minors at .02 percent, one-fifth as much as the legal limit for non-minors. The rationale for the law is that since it is illegal for minors to drink alcohol, they should be punished even more than their adult counterparts if they drink and drive.

The .10 limit was set there because alcohol begins to dangerously impair driving at that point. A zero tolerance law has nothing to do with intoxication. It is about consumption and possession, two things already illegal for minors.

To be sure, minors should not drink and drive. No one advocates that. However, this is not the way to punish them. What kind of a message does it send to kids that when they turn 21 they can have five times as much liquor in their systems and still drive safely?