NCJ Number
149318
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Directed to youths under age 21 and based on the recognition that many young people drink alcohol and drive after drinking, this pamphlet is intended to raise awareness so that these two activities will not be done together.
Abstract
Brewers spend a billion dollars per year advertising beer; young people are the target market. Drunk driving is the single leading cause of death among youth between ages 16 and 24. In the past 5 years, 22,000 young people have died and 65,000 have been injured because of drunk drivers. Sixty percent of young drivers who were involved in traffic accidents had alcohol in their blood, and 43 percent were legally intoxicated when it happened. Alcohol is a depressant that impairs judgment, causes visual problems, slows reaction time, and reduces concentration. Adolescents drink and drive because they do not realize that they are affected by alcohol or that it is dangerous. They are also influenced by their peers and believe that nothing bad will happen to them. It is best not to combine drinking and driving. However, youths who drink should pace themselves, alternate alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, stop when they have had enough to drink, and stop drinking well in advance of driving. Other ways to keep drunk drivers off the road are to decide beforehand who will drive after a party so that person will abstain or drink only small amounts, tell others when they have drunk enough, not allow an intoxicated person to drive, and not enter a car with an intoxicated driver. Driving while intoxicated results in both legal and personal penalties. Charts