Fayette County Sheriff's Office

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Thank you for taking the time to visit our website. Please take the time to visit our FCSO News link regularly to keep up with what is happening within the Sheriff's Office and around Fayette County. If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to email us.

Congratulations Class of 2013!!

The Fayette County Sheriff's Office would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the seniors graduating this year. It's time to celebrate! That means parties -- and for many that means alcohol.

The Fayette County Sheriff's Office is asking all teenagers and parents out there to make the responsible choice. Stay alive -- don't drink and drive.

If you are under 21, it's against the law to drink. But did you know that people under 21 cannot have ANY alcohol in their bloodstream under Tennessee law? If caught drinking underage, you could face severe penalties. We want everyone to have a safe and sober graduation.

A lot of parents think it is a good idea to let their teenager and friends drink as long as they remain at their home. While parents may rationalize: “I’d rather my kids drink at home than in a car.” “At least they’re not doing drugs.” “If I let them drink a little now, they won’t go crazy when they turn 21.” “I did it when I was young and I’m ok.” The fact is, underage drinking is hazardous to the health and safety of our children. As a parent, you cannot give alcohol to your teen or their friends under the age of 21 under any circumstance, even in your own home, even with their parent’s permission. There are legal consequences if you do. A person can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for purchasing alcoholic beverages or beer for anyone under twenty-one (21) years of age, or for providing alcoholic beverages or beer to a minor. If a person is convicted of Purchasing or Providing Alcohol to a Minor, he or she may be sentenced to up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.00. Additionally, they must perform at least one hundred (100) hours of community service work. The judge may take away your driving privileges for purchasing alcohol for a minor.

Consider the following statistics:

Nearly one million high school teens drank alcohol and got behind the wheel in 2011.
In 2011, 32 percent of the young drivers (15 to 20 years old) who were killed in crashes had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher; 26 percent had a BAC of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher.
In 2011, 24 percent of the young drivers involved in fatal crashes were drinking, compared to 3 percent in injury crashes and 2 percent in property-damage-only crashes.
Among young drivers, 536 drivers were killed at the age of 20 – highest among young drivers; 39 percent of these drivers were drinking.
In 2011, 28 percent of the young male drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash, compared with 16 percent of the young female drivers involved in fatal crashes.
In 2011, 57 percent of the young drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes who had been drinking were unrestrained.
Of the young drivers who had been drinking and were killed in crashes, 70 percent were unrestrained.
NHTSA estimates that the 21-year-old minimum-drinking-age laws have reduced alcohol traffic fatalities by 13 percent and have saved an estimated 28,765 lives since 1975. In 2011, an estimated 533 lives were saved by minimum-drinking-age laws.
All States and the District of Columbia have 21-year-old minimum-drinking-age laws.
In 2011, 32 percent of the young drivers (15 to 20 years old) who were killed in crashes had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher; 26 percent had a BAC of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher (see Table 4).
Drivers are considered to be alcohol-impaired when their BAC is .08 g/dL or higher. Thus, any fatality occurring in a crash involving a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher is considered to be an alcohol-impaired-driving fatality. Alcohol involvement or drinking crashes include fatal crashes in which a driver had a BAC of .01 g/dL or higher.
In 2009, 24 percent of the 15- to 20-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes were drinking, compared to 4 percent in injury crashes and 2 percent in property-damage-only crashes.
Among young drivers ages 15 to 20, 625 drivers were killed at the age of 20 – highest in this age category; 41 percent of these drivers were drinking – highest in this age category.
The number of 15- to 20-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes who had a BAC of .01 g/dL or higher dropped by 45 percent, from 1,913 in 2002 to 1,059 in 2011.
For young drivers (15 to 20 years old), alcohol involvement is higher among males than among females. In 2009, 27 percent of the young male drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash, compared with 15 percent of the young female drivers involved in fatal crashes.
Drivers are less likely to use restraints when they have been drinking. In 2011, 57 percent of the young drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes who had been drinking were unrestrained. Of the young drivers who had been drinking and were killed in crashes, 70 percent were unrestrained.
NHTSA estimates that the 21-year-old minimum-drinking-age laws have reduced alcohol traffic fatalities by 13 percent and have saved an estimated 27,677 lives since 1975. In 2009, an estimated 623 lives were saved by minimum-drinking-age laws.

Before you drink, THINK.