:Sorry, my hair-splitting implements are all dull from too frequent use :) I'm sure the actual statute utilizes excruciatingly clear language :) I think we'll have to be satisifed that "underage" modifies the phrase "drunken driving," qualifying the activity by considering age. Personal perspective notwithstanding, no explicit suggestion exists indicating inebriated handling of a vehicle is permissible if the operator is above a minimum age. --BrantEaton |
Oddly, underage refers not to driving before the legal age, but drinking before the legal age. Alcohol purchase and posession laws would seem to preclude "underage drinking" and therefore "underage drunken driving." However, states pass laws limiting BAC for underage drunken drivers above 0.0% (often at 0.08%). Perhaps this is a commetary on the legal system's opinion of the baseline capacity of teen drivers.... Less alcohol need be present to define an underage drunken driver as too impared to drive. --BrantEaton
I see what you're getting at, but the phrase underage drunken driving suggests there's a legal age for drunken driving. :) Verloren