Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death
for young people 15 to 20 years of age. While alcohol-related
fatalities for youth under 21 have declined by 56 percent
between 1982 and 1996, non-alcohol-related fatalities
for youth have increased almost 15 percent. There remains
much to be done to continue to reduce deaths and injuries
to our young people-both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related.
For underage persons, the effects of alcohol in combination
with novice level driving skills can be a deadly combination.
Full compliance with a Zero Tolerance law means if a
person under the age of 21 drives with a BAC level of
.02 or higher (compared to the adult level of .08 or
.10), he/she will be considered to be in violation of
the law. Various studies agree that young drivers who
have been drinking have a greater risk of involvement
in fatal crashes than adults with similar BAC levels.
The Journal of Studies of Alcohol reports that young
drivers with BACs of .05 to .10 are far more likely
to be killed in single vehicle crashes than sober young
drivers. The relative risk of fatal crash involvement
is substantially higher for drivers under age 21 at
lower BAC levels than for drivers age 25 or older. According
to NHTSA, male drivers age 16 to 20 have six times the
driver fatality risk in single vehicle crashes at BACs
of .01 to .04 compared to male drivers age 25 and older
at these low levels.
What works to reduce drinking and driving among
teenagers? Minimum alcohol purchasing
age laws work. For a long time, the legal age for purchasing
alcohol was 21 years old in most of the United States.
Then, in the 1960s and early 1970s, many states lowered
their minimum purchasing ages to 18 or 19 years old.
The Institute's research on the consequences of this
action indicated an increase in the number of drivers
younger than 21 involved in nighttime fatal crashes.
As a result of this and other studies with similar findings,
a number of states raised their minimum alcohol purchasing
ages -- in some states back to 21 years old and in other
states to 19 or 20. Institute researchers evaluated
this development in nine states in 1981, finding reductions
in nighttime fatal crashes among young drivers. The
average fatality reduction based on all nine states
was 28 percent. A subsequent study in 26 states that
raised minimum legal alcohol purchasing ages during
1975-84 estimated a 13 percent reduction in nighttime
driver fatal crash involvement. In 1984, 23 states had
minimum alcohol purchasing ages of 21 years old, and
federal legislation was enacted to withhold highway
funds from the remaining 27 states if they did not follow
suit. Since July 1988, all 50 states and the District
of Columbia have required alcohol purchasers to be 21
years old.
How has the teenage drinking and driving problem
changed over time? Trends in alcohol involvement
in fatal crashes can be monitored through the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis
Reporting System, a census of virtually all fatal crashes
in the United States. During the 1980s, percentages
of fatally injured drivers with high BACs (0.08 percent
or more) declined among drivers of all ages. Reductions
among young drivers were greatest, in part because of
changing alcohol purchasing age laws. In 1982, fewer
than half of the states had purchasing requirements
for 21 year-olds, and 49 percent of all fatally injured
drivers younger than 21 had high BACs. This statistic
declined dramatically as states adopted older purchasing
ages, and by 2001 it had declined to 26 percent, the
biggest improvement for any age group.
What can be done to further reduce teenage drinking
and driving? In 1990-91, Institute researchers
found 19-20 year-olds could easily buy a six-pack of
beer in Washington, D.C. and a New York City suburb.
But in two New York counties where police had recently
cracked down on underage alcohol purchases, youths were
less successful. In these studies, the underage purchasers
were generally not even asked by sellers for proof of
their age. In 1994 and 1995, Institute researchers surveyed
high school and college students younger than age 21
in New York and Pennsylvania about alcohol use and purchase.
Fifty-nine percent of college students and 28 percent
of high school students in New York and 37 percent of
college students and 14 percent of high school students
in Pennsylvania reported they had used false identification
to obtain alcohol. Many communities are stepping up
enforcement of alcohol purchasing age laws -- clearly
this is needed to make them more effective.
Are the BAC thresholds for illegal driving per se
lower for teenagers than for older drivers? All 50 states and the District of Columbia have established
lower blood alcohol thresholds that are illegal per
se for drivers younger than 21. Federal legislation
enacted in 1995 that allowed for the withholding of
highway funds played a role in motivating states to
pass such laws. Research indicates such policies reduce
nighttime fatal crashes in this age group.
Statistics and information provided
by www.iihs.org
|
NOTE:
YAERD supports Zero Tolerance and advocates combining
it with administrative license revocation or suspension
measurers as an effective way of decreasing the incidence
of underage drinking. Experience also indicates that
a targeted public awareness campaign to inform young
people that this law is in effect and will be enforced
also may reduce these preventable tragedies.
States
and Territories WITH Dram
Shop Laws(43)
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
New Hampshire, New, Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Washington D.C.,
West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
States
and Territories WITHOUT Dram
Shop Laws(8)
Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska,
Nevada, South Dakota, Virginia
|
>