Walk It Through: The Ride Home At Nineteen
Two beers at a bonfire, a drive home, a stop, and the rule for drivers under twenty-one.
At a bonfire outside town, a college freshman is handed a can of beer.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One driver under twenty-one with a low reading. A reading at the adult limit, a crash, a fake identification card and a call for help for a friend are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Actual physical controlBeing in control of a vehicle without driving it. The DUI law forbids driving or being in actual physical control of any vehicle while impaired or at 0.08 percent or more.
- Class 2 misdemeanorThe lesser misdemeanor class, with a maximum of thirty days in a county jail or a $500 fine, or both.
- Financial responsibilityThe insurance, bond or deposit every driver or owner maintains on a vehicle at all times. Failing to maintain it is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
- The under twenty-one ruleA person under the age of twenty-one may not drive with 0.02 percent or more alcohol, or while evidence of marijuana or an unprescribed drug remains. A Class 2 misdemeanor.
- Open containerAlcohol in a package or receptacle whose seal is broken, within reach of anyone in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public highway. A Class 2 misdemeanor for the person who has it.