3. Revocation of Driver's License

States should enact legislation authorizing a judge to completely or partially suspend or revoke the driver's license of persons under the age of 21 upon conviction of an alcohol or drug related traffic offense or upon refusal to submit to substance testing under existing state implied consent laws.

The statistics on the involvement of youth under age 21 in traffic fatalities, along with the "blood border" fatalities, justify some limitation on driver's licenses up to age 21.73 The complete or partial revocation or suspension of a youth license is another step in solving the problem of alcohol-related traffic fatalities. The Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving has recommended that states adopt the provisional youth driving license.74 The President's Commission noted that 35 states have adopted some variation on limiting the licenses for drivers under the age of 18.75

On April 10, 1985, Robert J. Mellow, a Pennsylvania State Senator, introduced Senate bill No. 66076, providing for provisional youth licenses, based on an existing California statutory provision for delaying or revoking driver's licenses of persons under 18 convicted of drunk driving.77 There have been similar proposals with regard to restricted adult licenses after Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) convictions.78 Some of these proposals, however, are not above question on constitutional grounds as cruel and unusual punishment. It has been established that the consent provision is appropriate since the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld state blood-alcohol and breathalizer tests in addition to restrictions resulting from a refusal to consent.79

Therefore, provisional youth licenses subject to complete or partial revocation upon conviction or refusal to consent are extensions of already existing laws or pending legislation.80
This recommendation urges the states to support both provisional youth licenses and uniform 21 minimum drinking age laws as two measures that in tandem can help to address the drinking and driving aspect of youth alcohol and other drug problems.

731n 1981, approximately 25,000 people died from alcohol-related highway accidents (70 lives per day). In that same year 4,884 persons died in alcohol-related highway accidents in which the driver was under 21. This represents 23.6 percent of all alcohol-related fatalities. Over 5,000 teens are killed and 130,000 are injured yearly in alcohol-related accidents. These statistics demonstrate the gross involvement of teens in these fatalities despite the fact that drivers under 21 represent approximately ten percent of the licensed drivers, and drive approximately nine percent of the vehicle miles driven. The American Automobile Association, Why the Legal Drinking Age Should be 21  (1984). See infra, recommendation and report on the 21 drinking age.

74See Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving, Final Report at 21 (Nov. 1983).
States should adopt laws providing a provisional license for young beginner drivers which would be withdrawn for a DUI conviction or an implied consent refusal.

75Id.

76Drug and alcohol related offenses by persons under 18 years of age; restrictions, suspension, or delay of driving privileges:

(a) Upon conviction of a person for any offense specified in subdivision (d), committed while the person was under the age of 18 years and while driving a motor vehicle, the court may suspend or restrict the person's driving privileges on conditions that the court deems appropriate or, in the case of a person who does not yet have the privilege to drive, order that the privilege be delayed. The duration of the restriction, suspension, or delay shall be for up to one year or until the person reaches 17 years of age, whichever is longer; however, if the person's driving privileges have been previously suspended, restricted, or delayed pursuant to this section, the duration may be extended until the person reaches 18 years of age.

See also Cal Veh. Code Sec. 13352.3 (West 1985), regarding the terms of revocation and reinstatement of such licenses.

77PÁ Senate Bill 660, Printer's No. 755 (1985), proposes to amend the existing Pennsylvania driving law as follows:

75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Sec. 3731(e)(1982) is amended by adding a paragraph to read:

Sec. 3731 Driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance...

...e. Penalty

...(9) In addition to the other penalities prescribed under the section, any person under 21 years of age violating any provision of this section shall have his driver's license revoked until he reaches 22 years of age. Revocation shall occur for in-state violations of this section and for out-of-state violations of laws of the situs state which conform to this section.

See Cal. Veh. Code Sec. 13202.5 (West 1985).

78See, e.g., the "labeling" of DWI offenders in Oklahoma. Oklahoma Town Tags Convicted Drunk Drivers, The Wash. Post, Feb. 21, 1985, at A3 and Caufield, A Look at His Bumper Can Tell the World He Has Driven Drunk, Phila. Inq., Feb. 20, 1985, at 12A.

79See, e•g_, South Dakota v. Neville, 103 S. Ct. 916 (1983); and Mackey v. Montrym, 443 U.S. 1 (1979).

80Such partial licenses are already permitted in some states so as to enable minors to travel to and from work. See, e.g., N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law Sec. 501.3 (McKinney 1984-85).