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