Adolescence/Drinking and Driving

Picture this: a mother, father, and friends are weeping; community members shake their heads for the tragedy. Another young adult driver’s life has been taken by impaired driving. Traffic accidents continue to be the leading cause of death in the United States for young people and alcohol consumption before driving is a deadly contributor to these crashes. In a 2005 national survey of young people in the US conducted by the CDC, 1 in 10 respondents reported having driven after drinking within the last month. The consequences of teen drinking and driving are numerous and can include death and physical injury, participating in other risky behaviors, and financial loss and community loss.

According to Hingson (2003), alcohol was involved in 50% of fatal crashes and 20% of crashes resulting in serious injury. In 2005, 23% of drivers aged 15-20 years old who died in motor vehicle crashes (MVC’s) had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or above (CDC, 2008); in the majority of US states, this is above the legal limit to be driving. At a BAC of 0.08% the driver’s performance significantly decreases in areas such as glare recovery, complex visual tracking, parking, steering and braking. Even at as low a BAC as 0.02%, the driver experiences slowed reaction time and decision making processes. Each 0.02% increase in BAC doubles one’s likelihood of being in a fatal crash; that likelihood is even higher for drivers under the age of 21.

Added to the inherent danger of drinking and driving, one must consider other risky behaviors young people engage in while under the influence of alcohol. Teen drivers are much less likely to wear their seatbelts after having consumed alcohol, and are much more likely to speed. In fact, the CDC reports that in 2005, 74% of teen drivers killed in MVC’s were unrestrained and 38% were speeding. In addition to the threats mentioned above, one could experience financial loss. For all ages, the cost of alcohol related crashes in the US in 2005 was $51 billion (CDC, 2008). If a young driver, at the very least, gets in a fender bender as a result of drinking and driving, he will have repair costs to his vehicle. At the severe end of the spectrum, a driver might be responsible for his vehicle repair costs, the vehicle repair costs of another party, and medical bills for both parties. Legal repercussions could include a fine (if not a jail sentence), and one’s insurance rates are raised for crashes.

Finally, it must be remembered that teen drinking and driving is a community problem too. Teens that make the decision to drive after drinking are members of the community. Poor decisions will affect the community negatively. As such, the community must encourage teens to make safe decisions, such as choosing to stay in one place if they choose to consume alcohol. We must all help convince teens that the costs of drinking and driving are too heavy to bear.