Teens today are thrown into situations that they have never anticipated or expected. Driving a group of drunken friends home is not something new drivers should look forward to or have to prepare for. Nevertheless, teens find themselves sitting next to their intoxicated friends while behind the wheel.

The legal consequence of underage dinking is usually a fine and a number of hours of community service, nothing compared to the punishment and consequence for a DUI. And yet, there is a reprimand for students preventing their drunken friends from getting behind the wheel and causing serious damage. A designated driver caught with underage drinkers in their car could be cited or given a ticket for the contribution to the delinquency of minors.

“That’s stupid because we are trying to help” states junior Nicole Parrish. “That’s what the DD [designated driver] is for.”

Many students at Placer High School have acted as designated drivers in the past and a punishment for stepping up and taking care of their friends doesn’t seem fair.

“Yeah, I’ve been a designated driver before,” remarks senior Haley Godman. “I’ve been to a lot of parties and I’m the one who takes the ‘drunkies’ home.”

A reprimand for designated driving could discourage teens from stepping up and doing the right thing. Having a designated driver is definitely better than not having one, but the possibility that the hero in this situation could be undermined could hinder the number of volunteers for designated driver.

“I don’t want them [underage drinkers] drinking and driving so I would risk it; I would rather be in trouble than have them be dead,” says senior Amy Clark. “But it’s unfair for the driver to be punished for trying to do the right thing.”

However, police officials are not to be seen as the villains in this situation. Many officers will let the driver off with a warning depending on circumstances like: the number of people in the car, the time of the incident, evidence of open containers in the car, and a record of past offenses.

According to Detective Scott Alford of the Auburn Police Department, “Having a sober person behind the wheel is always a good thing, but we don’t want to condone underage drinking.”

There is a line between encouraging minors to drink and looking out for your friends and most police officers will see it, but there is a legal consequence for trying to do the right thing when your friends made a mistake.