For Immediate Release Contact: Karen Patti
[DATE] 703-476-4900
Colorado FCCLA Youth Leaders Calling for Zero Tolerance
Youth are speaking up for legislation that will send a clear message to all teens that drugged driving is as dangerous as drunk driving.
Month Date, 2016 (Colorado) – Youth leaders from Colorado who are Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members are speaking up to support Knock Out DUID, a new partnership effort between the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), Family, Career, Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) to educate, empower and activate young people around the dangers of impaired driving.
Teens in particular have dangerous misperceptions when it comes to the prevalence, acceptability, and risk of DUID, resulting in an increased likelihood that youth will engage in this behavior. Drivers between 16-20 years of age are the most likely to test positive for marijuana of any age group (Lacey et al., 2009). Teens ages 16-19 also have the highest crash risk of any group of drivers in the U.S. (IIHS, 2013).
“We know that young people today have the power to bring light to the often misunderstood and under-reported issue of drugged driving,” said [local FCCLA youth leader]. “It is our goal to engage our peers to be engines for change by advocating against drugged driving and in favor of imposing harsher penalties on individuals who are caught driving under the influence of drugs.”
The underage use of drugs should be approached in the same way as underage drinking, particularly in states where marijuana is now legal in some form. When used on their own, both drugs and alcohol impair a driver’s abilities. When combined, impairment while driving increases significantly. Regardless of individual state laws, drugs and alcohol are illegal for all people under 21 and should never be combined with driving.
The time is now for legislative leaders to hear from youth that support efforts to put a halt to the idea that drugged driving is acceptable behavior. Join this movement by emailing your interest in helping us Knock Out DUID to .
About FCCLA:
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education. FCCLA has more than 150,000 members and more than 5,300 chapters from 48 state associations, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
FCCLA: The Ultimate Leadership Experience is unique among youth organizations because its programs are planned and run by members, and it’s the only career and technical in-school student organization with a central focus on careers that support the family. Participation in national programs and chapter activities helps members become strong leaders in families, careers, and communities.
About Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility:
Responsibility.org is a national not-for-profit organization that leads the fight against drunk driving and underage drinking. Funded for more than 24 years by the nation’s leading distillers (Bacardi USA, Beam Suntory Inc., Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, DIAGEO, Edrington, Hood River Distillers and Pernod Ricard USA), they bring individuals, families and communities together to guide a lifetime of conversations around alcohol responsibility and offer proven strategies to stop impaired driving.
# # #