These new restrictions may seem unfair to young drivers but there is a good reason for them. Other state measures aiding in the reduction of teenage driving accidents are changes to the legal blood alcohol content. In fact, all 50 states have also passed zero tolerance laws prohibiting teenagers from drinking and driving. Zero tolerance laws make it illegal for people under 21 to drive with any amount of alcohol in their system, defined as a BAC of .02 or less. The normal BAC level for adults is 0.08.
Several studies show conclusively that zero tolerance laws save lives.
For example, Maryland's zero tolerance law produced an 11 percent decrease in the number of crashes involving drinking drivers under age 21. In four other states, the number of late night fatal crashes of young drivers dropped 34 percent after zero tolerance laws. These decreases are a direct result of the new laws.