With graduations coming up at San Benito, Anzar and San Andreas
high schools this week and next, police have put parents on
notice.
With graduations coming up at San Benito, Anzar and San Andreas high schools this week and next, police have put parents on notice.
If you have a party with alcohol for graduates and one of them drives away, you could get thrown behind bars and be out a $1,000.
It seems some parents think kids are going to drink anyway and mistakenly believe they are setting up a safety net by allowing them to consume alcohol at a party at home.
Police even say they hear parents are renting trucks to haul kids from party to party.
Such actions may seem smart, but allowing kids to drink creates a tremendous liability for the community.
If a student slips away at some point and gets behind the wheel, he or she could cause an accident. God forbid, but they might end up killing themselves or someone else.
That’s why we’re glad to see that local law enforcement is taking advantage of new legislation that holds parents accountable. We hope it will make parents think twice before allowing their children to drink.
The new law, passed in January, will allow a parent or legal guardian to be prosecuted if a minor consumes alcohol on their property and later causes an accident.
Parents who break the law can spend a year in jail or have to shell out $1,000. Local law enforcement agencies say they will be out in force during graduations and will use this new tool to curb drinking and driving among teens.
“If you do it and support it and they get into a crash, you’re going to get prosecuted,” said Terry Mayes of the California Highway Patrol.
The worst thing about these kind of accidents that can cut a young life tragically short is they are easily preventable.
So please, be responsible for your children.
Don’t provide alcohol to students. Host a sober graduation party. If you do see someone at your home who has been drinking, take their keys away.
Also, consider sending kids to San Benito High School’s free Sober Grad Nite where there will be food and entertainment all night long. It will at 8 p.m. on Friday in the Mattson Gymnasium.
Have fun, celebrate, but be safe and let’s avoid any tragedies.
To respond to this editorial or comment on this issue, please send or bring letters to Editor, Hollister Free Lance, 350 Sixth St., Hollister, Calif. 95023 or fax to 637-4104 or e-mail to [email protected]
