This policy topic is included in the APIS Highlight on Underage Drinking section.  The Highlight's overview of underage drinking policy in the United States provides additional context that may be helpful in understanding this policy topic. State-by-State summaries of eleven underage drinking policy topics are available in the State Profiles of Underage Drinking Laws section.  Maps and charts for all of these policy topics are collected on a single page to provide a more comprehensive graphical overview of underage policies.

Policy Description

As a penalty for underage purchase, possession, or consumption of  alcoholic beverages, some States authorize suspension or revocation of driving privileges.

These "Use/Lose" laws began to appear during the mid-1980s. As the name suggests, Use/Lose laws were originally enacted to penalize youth for using alcohol (and other drugs) by imposing what is perceived as a significant punishment - the loss of a young person's driver's license.  Debates about Use/Lose in the 1980s often noted that fines were an ineffective sanction for youth because parents paid them.

Recently States have been experimenting with licensing sanctions for a variety of problem behaviors including truancy, school drop-out, failure to meet school performance standards, and motor vehicle theft. APIS addresses only Use/Lose laws that relate specifically to underage alcohol purchase, possession, and consumption violations.

To view the comparison tables and additional
information about this policy topic, click
on the links on the right side of this page.

Email a link to this page: http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/UseLose