D.C. teens might get one more requirement tacked on to the list of musts for securing a driver’s license.

A handful of council members have submitted legislation that would require District residents under 21 to take a drug and alcohol awareness class before being legally allowed to drive the city’s streets.

It’s a move that some anti-drunken-driving activists consider a step in the right direction.

But they say it should be paired with a crackdown on underage drinking.

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“While it’s good to have a class on awareness mandated, it’s missing that enforcement angle,” said Kurt Erickson, president of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program. “You need the carrot and the stick. ... We have the carrot but not the stick.”

The bill will be passed into law unless council members strike it down following a 30-day review period. According to the legislation, a license will be granted only if the young driver takes the two-hour class and receives a certificate of completion.

Erickson said the extra step is similar to a failed Maryland measure this year that would have forced drivers under age 21 to pass a drug test to be licensed. That legislation never made it out of committee.

John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA’s mid-Atlantic office, said his agency generally favors the move D.C. officials are trying to make.

“This is important to do because of what a problem binge drinking is, especially amongst college students,” he said.

In 2006, nearly a third of teenagers killed in U.S. car crashes had blood-alcohol levels above the legal limit, Townsend said.

Erickson said linking education on drinking and drugs to driver’s licenses is a great idea that’s gaining steam because it hits teenagers where they live. Now he’d like to see a greater focus on punishing drinkers under 21.

Virginia doesn’t have a specific alcohol awareness requirement for younger drivers to get their licenses, according to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com