NCJ Number
117193
Date Published
1986
Length
17 pages
Annotation
In examining drinking and driving among youth, this study considers age-specific death rates from motor vehicle accidents, the number of youth involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents, and self-report data about the drinking practices of 10th-12th grade students.
Abstract
National alcohol, health, and motor vehicle accident statistics show that alcohol consumption, driving under the influence of alcohol, and involvement in alcohol-related accidents are extensive among youth (especially males), many of whom are under the legal drinking age. A study of the relationship between the State minimum-drinking-age laws and the drinking practices of 10th-12th graders indicates that a 21-year minimum legal drinking age is related to less alcohol use by teenagers; however, the data also show that teenage drinking is extensive even in States with 21-year-old laws, although less so than in States with lower minimum drinking ages. The nature of the relationship between legal drinking age and levels of teenage alcohol use is unclear. Laws may be artifacts of social customs and values rather than shapers of them. 3 tables, 17 references.