Have you ever had a beer at 9:00 and wanted to drive home at midnight? Have you ever wanted to have a tasty cooler with your meal at 6:00 then drive to a friends house at 8:00? Have you ever wanty to try a tasty meal or tessert at a restaurant and then driving to an event just after? Well now, if you're under 21, you can't be responsible like that anymore!
Every driver under 21 in Ontario, Canada must obey this law, started August 1, 2010, regardless of their level of licence.
I understand the zero per cent alcohol level in G1 and G2 drivers. I am a 19 year old fully licensed driver, I should get just as many rights as the 25 year old fully licensed driver. Is this ageism? Yes. It isn't "one year after you have your G". It's "until you`re 22 years old". Completely ageist. The person that got their full G when he or she turned 21 only has a year. With a few more years of driving experience, at 19 I don't have the same rights. I have been to parties before where I just have one cooler and sip it through the entire night. It doesn't affect me whatsoever. Why can't I drive home at 1 a.m. when I have been drinking that one cooler for the past few hours and that's all? A 25 year old can do that but not me, who has still been driving since the age of 16.
It is not extremely easy to got your full G licence. I believe that, once you get your full license, you should have all your rights. If the G2 exit test does not ensure that a driver is responsible and has good judgment, then change the test. Don't put laws on young people. Change the test so that you are only allowing good drivers to drive. Don't punish everyone.
Let's go back to this party. I'm at this party and so is another 19 year old named Sue. Sue is an irresponsible drunk and, regardless of everything we have told her, she has too much to drink and still drives home. Responsible people (like myself) can no longer drive after one cooler. Well, Sue doesn't care about the rules. She never has, so she still drives home. My friends need a ride home, guess who they will go with now that I can't drive. Becuse I will obey the rules. The same irresponsible drunk people will still not obey the rules. All this is doing is taking more responsible people off the road.
I definitely do not promote drinking and driving. In the above situation, I would definitely be discouraging Sue to drive. But people like that are still out there. People will still drink and drive. This law won't stop drunk people from drinking and driving. I am not sure what good this law is actually doing.
If there is a little bit of alcohol in your system, how does that affect people 21 years of age and younger but not affect people 22 years of age or older? Just because I'm 19 does not mean that I will be drunk after just a bit of alcohol. I will still have the same judgment when I turn 22 as when I was 21. It does not magically change.
If this is such a big issue, perhaps there should be a G3 licence implemented. It could be a zero per cent alcohol level waiting period between your G2 and G. But once I have my full licence, I should be able to keep my licence, not have them taken away due to "ageism".
Now that this law is implemented, realize that the irresponsible drunk people (of all ages, not just 21 and under) will still be on the road. All you are doing is taking off the smart, responsible, law abiding drivers.
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