In 1999, 26 teens died in car crashes in Nebraska in which the driver had been drinking. According to Sen. Mark Quandahl of Omaha, "Consumption by teenagers is on the rise and kids are starting to drink younger than ever before."

He recently requested an interim legislative study to determine which penalties might deter underage drinking. State senators on the General Affairs Committee recently reviewed the results of the study.

Many of the recommendations focused on specific laws and penalties. Among them were lenghtening the current 30-day license suspension for teens caught drinking and driving, and stricter graduated driver's license restrictions for teens.

Diane Riibe of Project Extra Mile, a group that works to discourage underage drinking, said that consistent enforcement of existing alcohol laws with continuing education is the most effective way to reduce teen drinking.

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