Young people use alcohol because they feel peer pressure to use it. They think that if they drink, they will get popular and "cool". The reality is that alcohol doesn't solve any problems or enhance your image, but in fact, makes your life more difficult. It can get you in trouble, whether with your family, school, or the law. Friends that try to pressure you into drinking are not true friends. Using alcohol will not make things go away, but in fact make it more difficult for you because you have a harder time making decisions. If you act mature, and take care of yourself, as well as obeying laws and rules, you will be able to solve problems more efficiently and feel better about yourself.

When people abuse alcohol, they exhibit warning signs. Extreme changes in their mood or behavior, a drop in school performance, becoming less concerned about personal hygiene, and eating a lot of junk food can be a sign of alcohol abuse. If they should have a problem, there are many places where they can obtain help. These organizations include Alateen, Al-Anon, and Alcoholics Anonymous. You can also get help from school counselors, doctors, health clinics, social workers, members of the clergy, and of course, your parents.

Underage drinking endangers the safety of others, as well as ourselves. Almost half of the teens that are in custody of crimes such as rape, murder, assault, and drug charges all claimed that they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crime. Also, youths between the ages of 15 and 20 are killed in traffic accidents at twice the rate of the general population, and over 35% of these crashes are alcohol related.

The National Highway Safety Administration, along with various law enforcement agencies around the United States, created the NHTSA DWI and Underage Drinking Enforcement Manual. The manual helps to suggest how to set up successful enforcement operations.

There are many methods by which law enforcement searches for underage drinkers. The methods include stings, point of purchase, third party sales, saturation patrols, and party patrols.

Stings uses underage buyers who are sent by the police to attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages in stores and hotels. The goal of these sting operations is to make the community aware that alcohol is not to be sold to minors, and that the laws will be strictly enforced. It is hoped that through sting operations, that the stores and hotels will voluntarily comply with the laws and not sell alcohol to minors.

Another such method is the Point of Purchase or POP patrol. This is where law enforcement disguises itself in plain clothes and work in restaurants and as clerks. If underage people ask for alcohol, the police quickly make the arrest. Most stores and businesses prefer this method as opposed to the "sting" method because this method targets the buyers of alcohol, and not the distributors.

Party patrols are another method utilized by the police to curb alcohol use and DWI in minors. The police generally hear of parties through community sources and then use a cautious approach to break up the party and explain to the children that their actions endanger the lives of themselves and others. Police do not storm parties in this type of patrol, because party members can just flee in cars, increasing the risk of a DWI accident.

There are many solutions to help with the DWI problem amongst underage drinkers. Cooperating people are needed to help give the police a proper description of accidents and such, so that the police can see what motivates these minors to drink and drive. Also, parental notification and punishment by parents are effective in solving an alcohol abuse problem that a child may have. In addition, there are many drug and alcohol help lines for people of all ages to call to seek advice and help, but unfortunately, such organizations and hotlines are not published often enough. Next, there is also a program called "Teen Court", where students in schools try their peers who were arrested on DWI and alcohol impairment charges. The goal of this program is to change the attitude and thinking of the young people by allowing them to become part of the judicial process and deciding the punishment for the crime. This program is used to help out the juvenile court systems with "minor" cases that could take long times to resolve. Finally, there has been in advance in technology, and now, there are alcohol screens to assist law enforcement and people wishing to have no alcohol at their parties. Equipment such as the more advanced breath tests and the saliva-alcohol tests can be used to test for the presence of even the smallest levels of alcohol consumed.