    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [June 10, 1995]
    [Pages 843-844]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    June 10, 1995

        Good morning. I know all Americans share my deep pride and joy in
    the safety of Captain Scott O'Grady. We're proud of his courage and his
    tenacity. And we are very grateful to our armed forces for his swift and
    brilliant rescue. I'm glad we have him back safe and secure.
        Today I want to talk about a very real threat to the safety and
    security of young Americans here at home: drunk driving. Drunk driving,
    especially by young people, is one of the most serious and one of the
    most avoidable threats to public health in America. I'm joined in the
    White House by members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Students
    Against Drunk Driving, AAA, and the National Safety Council. In no small
    measure because of the determined work of private organizations like
    these, we have taken some very important steps over the last decade to
    reduce drunk driving.
        Most of us who were Governors of our States during that period
    strengthened our own laws against drunk driving. In 1984, President
    Reagan signed a bill giving States a strong incentive to raise their
    drinking age to 21. Today, that is the law of the land in every State.
    As a result, teenagers can no longer drive to neighboring States with
    lower drinking ages. This happened all the time before we had a uniform
    drinking age, and all too often with tragic consequences.
        The crime bill I signed into law last year puts tough new penalties
    on the books for people who drive drunk with children in their cars. It
    also makes it easier for States to prosecute anybody who drives under
    the influence of drugs or alcohol. And deaths due to drinking and
    driving have dropped as a result of the progress we've made, 30 percent
    in the last 12 years. The number of people under 21 killed because of
    drunk driving has dropped 50 percent since 1984.
        This is good progress, and I expect the new penalties in the crime
    bill will help to improve things even more. But it's not good enough.
    Some 18,000 people will die this year because someone sat down at the
    wheel after sitting down at a bar. That's about one every 30 minutes.
    Well over a million people will be injured, one every 26 seconds.
        This may sound unbelievable; it's certainly unacceptable. But over
    40 percent of all Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash
    at some time in their lives. Twenty-two hundred people were killed last
    year because of young drivers who were drinking and driving. Of that
    group, 1,600 were young people themselves. There's something wrong in
    America when hundreds and hundreds of our young people are dying because
    hundreds and hundreds of our young people are drinking and driving.
        In most States, drunk driving is defined as a blood alcohol content
    of .1 percent. When underage drinkers become underage drunk drivers, I
    believe we should go further. I want Congress to call on the States to
    adopt zero tolerance laws for teenage drinking and driving. A blood
    alcohol content of .02 percent, the equivalent of one beer, one wine
    cooler, or one shot of alcohol, should be enough to trigger the drunk
    driving penalties for people under 21. After all, if it's illegal for
    people under 21 to drink at all, it should certainly be illegal for them
    to drink and drive. That's a no-brainer.
        Zero tolerance will save lives. It's already saving lives in 24
    States, including my home State. Alcohol-related crashes are down 10 to
    20 percent in those States overall. And in some States like Maine and
    New Mexico, all fatal crashes at night involving young people actually
    dropped by one-third after they adopted a zero tolerance law.
    Unfortunately, there are still 26 States, including large States like
    New York, Texas, and Florida, that draw thousands of vacationing
    teenagers every year, without these zero tolerance laws. It's time to
    have zero tolerance for underage drunk driving all across America, not
    just in some States.
        As we redefine the relationships between States and the Federal
    Government, it is clear there are many things the States can do better
    than we can do in Washington. And I've done as much as I could to push
    more authority and decisionmaking back down to the States, to encourage
    innovation in important areas like welfare and health care reform. But
    there are other things that are so important to our safety, our
    security, to our children, and our future that

    [[Page 844]]

    the Federal Government has a responsibility to act.
        I don't think there's any question that the fight against teenage
    drunk driving demands national action. Congress should make zero
    tolerance the law of the land. Drinking and driving don't mix for
    anyone. They certainly shouldn't be mixed by teenagers. The faster we
    act, the sooner the States will act and the more lives we'll save. Let's
    get to it.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 11:07 a.m. on June 9 in the Roosevelt
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 10. In his
    remarks, the President referred to Capt. Scott O'Grady, USAF, who was
    rescued after being shot down and stranded in western Bosnia.