Texas Mother Uses Daughter as Designated Driver

Texan Jennifer Rosenberg allegedly had her 12-year-old daughter be her designated driver as she celebrated her 35th birthday at a Longview bar. Rosenberg was arrested on charges of child endangerment - a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail facility - after her daughter was pulled over by police for failing to use a turn signal while driving her mother's blue mini-van home. When questioned by officers, the younger Rosenberg told officers that she had just dropped her mother off at a bar. A copy of the probable cause affidavit is available here.

Like most criminal defendants in child endangerment cases, Rosenberg is also likely to be the subject of an investigation by various other agencies.

In Texas, you can generally leave your child at home as long as they are capable of taking care of themselves. However, when you begin allowing your 12 year-old to drive around town unsupervised, you are obviously going to have problems.