You could kill or seriously injure yourself or others driving impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Utah has zero tolerance for minors drinking alcohol anywhere.

You have heard it all before. You may even have seen information from the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA) about keeping teen and young adult drivers safe.

The fact is that impaired driving at any ageis never a good idea and always dangerous. But people still do it, especially young people. NHTSA says traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for American teens 15 through 20 years of age. We repeat the same messages over and over. We know what happens, but how do you stop your child from drinking?

Any parent knows keeping children safe forever is impossible. Parental influence only goes so far — but further than most parents think. Your almost-grown child still values your opinion, if you treat him or her like the adult he or she is becoming. The way to take care of your child as they move into the driver’s seat is to take care of the relationship he or she has with you. Your best deterrent to drunk driving is to keep tabs on your children, give them structure until they build their own and keep communication open.

There are serious penalties and consequences for drunk driving at any age.

You know it already. Keep your children safe by staying in their lives, and helping them keep theirs. And if anyone gets arrested, seek experienced legal advice before you do anything else.