Any driver under the age of 21 who is caught drinking and driving is considered a minor and they will face serious legal consequences for their actions. Minors who are caught with a BAC of between 0.02%-0.08% will have to pay the same fines as an adult who is caught for DUI. They will also immediately have their license suspended for the next 30 days. Minors who are caught for DUI are required to further attend a substance abuse program and attend all the classes before they have their restrictions lifted from them.
Adults who are caught drunk driving while they have children under the age of 14 in the vehicle with them will also face more intense penalties by the law. The offender will have to face double the criminal punishment they would have faced if they were driving without minors in their vehicle. It is one thing to put oneself in danger by opting to drive while intoxicated, and it is another thing entirely to put the lives of children in danger as well. A person will also have to face more serious legal penalties if their BAC was very high, above 0.15%.
It is a criminal offense to sell alcohol to a minor in Alabama, and individuals who even serve alcohol to minors at a party can be legally penalized as well. The Alabama Civil Damages Act gives parents the right to take legal action against a store owner who sold alcohol to a minor who was under 21 years of age. The purpose of this Act is to make store owners more responsible and careful towards who they sell their alcoholic beverages.
If the selling of this alcohol resulted in their child getting into an accident, then there is more cause to take legal action. Anyone who has had their child get into a drunk driving accident should get in touch with an attorney to determine whether they are eligible to take legal action against the individual who sold their underage child alcohol, to begin with.
The Dram Shop Act is another Act that gives individuals the right to litigate against store owners who served alcohol to individuals who were already significantly drunk, especially when their drinking leads to them getting into an accident.
The penalty for getting caught drunk driving is very severe on its own. However, individuals can have their penalties aggravated and intensified if they were a minor themselves, if they were driving with a minor in the vehicle, or if they were driving a commercial vehicle or a bus while they were drunk. Drunk driving is incredibly risky, and it puts everyone on the road at jeopardy of getting severely injured or even facing death. Anyone who is involved in a drunk driving accident would call a legal representative to aid them in defending themselves in court or even seeking litigation against any party who may have indirectly contributed to the accident.