San Diego Union Tribune
By Ben Hueso & Eloisa Orozco

Summer is here. That means that the kids are out of school and summer vacation plans are in full gear. It also means that the 100 deadliest days of the year for teen drivers have begun.

It is also the time of year for graduation events and festivities, which all too often are accompanied by an alarming increase in teen deaths due to drunken or drug-impaired driving.

Motor vehicle-related injuries are the leading cause of death for 15- to 25-year-olds. Nine of the 10 deadliest days for youth on our nation's highways are between the months of May and August.

How many times in the last year have you been touched by, know of or have read about a fatal crash involving someone in that age group? During one graduation period in California, according to statistics provided by the California Highway Patrol, more than 50 drunk drivers in this age group were involved in fatal crashes.

The magnitude of the tragedy of losing young lives senselessly to drunken driving is overwhelming. Occurring at a time of such hope and accomplishment, these young deaths shatter families and traumatize communities. When school-age youth drink alcohol, according to a number of studies, they are more likely, not less likely, to develop serious behavioral and health problems related to the use of alcohol and other drugs.

Parents can help keep their teen safe by setting rules and enforcing them.

• No drinking alcohol before age 21. Parents are the No. 1 influence on their child's decision about alcohol. (For more information on talking with teens about underage drinking, check out MADD's Power of Parents, It's Your Influence® program or contact the local MADD office, (858) 564-0780.)
• Insist on seat belts at all times and in all seating positions. Low seat belt use is one of the primary reasons that teen driver and passenger fatality and injury rates remain high.
• Ban the use of all electronic devices, including cellphones.
• Limit nighttime driving and control the number of teenage passengers in the vehicle while they are driving.

Hueso represents the 79th Assembly District, which includes portions of San Diego, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, National City and Coronado. Orozco is the executive director of MADD, the nation's largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunken driving and underage drinking.