In the State of Arizona, the penalties for juveniles (someone under the age of 18) convicted of DUI, drunk-driving, DWI, driving under the influence are as follows:
First Offense
- One day detention
- Two year license suspension
- $100 to $500 fine plus surcharges
- Court ordered substance abuse counseling which you pay for
- Community Service
Second Offense
- 30 days detention
- Two year license suspension
- $100 to $500 fine plus surcharges
- Court ordered substance abuse counseling which you pay for
- Community Service
In addition to the sanctions imposed by the court for the violations previously listed, if you can find an insurance carrier that will insure you, your premiums will increase significantly. DUI convictions can eliminate you from qualifying for college degrees, scholarships and employment.
If you are under the age of 18 and are driving while impaired or driving with any alcohol in your system, in addition to other penalties, your driver's license will be suspended for two years!
CAN THE STATE PROSECUTE SOMEONE UNDER THE 18 AS AN ADULT?
Yes, the state has the right to prosecute someone under the age of 18 as an adult in certain circumstances. When the state decides to do that, those are usually cases in which the charges are very severe.
WHY IS ARIZONA SO AGGRESSIVE IN PROSECUTING UNDERAGE AND JUVENILE DUI CASES?
Underage drinking is a leading cause of traffic accidents and death among today's teenagers. The following is excerpted from the national Highway Transportation Safety Administration regarding The Juvenile DUI Enforcement Program ...
Motor vehicle crashes are the number-one killer of teenagers and other young adults (Vital Statistics Mortality Data, 1994, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Over 35 percent of motor vehicle fatalities of people 15 to 20 years of age are alcohol related. These tragedies have shaken nearly every community in the country.
Faced with the dramatic and deadly problem of juvenile impaired driving, police executives and their communities are struggling to shape a response. Education and other prevention-oriented programs implemented in the schools yield only limited results. Juvenile arrestees, undeterred by their sanctions and the potential consequences of their actions, continue to drive after consuming alcohol. Without an integrated, coordinated local strategy, communities soon learn that the individual decisions made by police, prosecutors, and judges are often inconsistent and can be ineffective.
The Juvenile DUI Enforcement Program, jointly sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was created to unify the various elements of anti-DUI enforcement in a single, comprehensive framework. The program represents a blueprint for action: a set of instructions and resources for a local, system-wide response to juvenile impaired driving due to alcohol and other drugs. The program goes beyond the traditional police response to DUI by linking enforcement efforts with public education, prosecution, adjudication, and treatment. Rather than just responding to events as they occur, the program helps communities get ahead of the curve to reduce juvenile drug- and alcohol-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities.
The Juvenile DUI Enforcement Program was implemented in five demonstration sites: Albany County, New York; Astoria, Oregon; Hampton, Virginia; Phoenix, Arizona; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The information presented in this publication is based on the experiences and reflections of officials in those sites. With the help of a comprehensive program, the sites were able to present a more unified, aggressive, and proactive response to juvenile DUI. Their successes may be replicated and improved on in other jurisdictions.
If you are the parent of an underage or juvenile driver who has been charged with a DUI in Arizona, please contact our office.
