During the 1970’s reports showed that teenage car accidents increased in states where the MLDA had been lowered from 21 years old. This in turn prompted Congress to help alleviate the problem by passing the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Although the federal government has no constitutional basis for setting a MLDA, it has
Riley Bartlett 5/17/11 Every year thousands of underage teens are dying from alcohol related accidents. Around 28% of fatal traffic crashes involving teens are alcohol related. Does the United States keep the drinking age 21, and enforce it strongly or lower the drinking age and teach teenagers to drink in moderation not binge drinking? Even though the Legal drinking age is 21, not everyone believes it should stay that age. Prohibition failed in 1920-1933 which shows that strict regulation of drinking is counterproductive, unenforceable, and leads to an increase in legal underground activity.
Why Drinking Age should be Lowered: An opinion based on research The argument that Ruth C. Engs presents about how she believes that the drinking age should be lowered is very solid. Her research backs up her opinion, and the research she displays is valid. The idea of letting eighteen and/or nineteen year olds consume alcohol in controlled areas which practices responsible drinking such as: restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. She has been professor at Indiana University for twenty years so she has experience of college youth and drinking. She states that students under the age of 21 are more likely to be binge drinkers.
Erin Young English 101 Online Hour – October 22, 2010 The Drinking Age Debate Too Young to have fun is an online database article discussing the drinking age. In 1984 the Reagan administration ordered all the states to rise their drinking age to 21 or loose 10% of their federal highway funds. In some states, that would mean losing up to $50 million dollars. They purposed this change thinking that it would somehow curve underage drinking but it only made it worse causing criminal records to rise, even though the fatalities among underage drunk drivers declined by 13%. I believe this article supported my decision about lowering the drinking age because the article insinuated that by raising the drinking age, more deaths occurred as well
Age-Twenty-One Drinking Laws Protect Youth Table of Contents: Further Readings | View Multimedia File(s) "Since '21' became the law of our land, an estimated 20,000 lives have been saved." In the following viewpoint, Wendy J. Hamilton insists that the U.S. age-twenty-one drinking law has saved thousands of lives. According to Hamilton, almost every state has seen a decrease in teenage driving fatalities since the law went into effect. In addition, she says, many drownings, burns, assaults, and other serious injuries have been prevented. She believes that the country should devote more resources to strengthening enforcement of this lifesaving law.
However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law which mandated states to have 21 year old alcohol purchase laws. The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments,
Trevor Chattin ENG-112 Mrs. Kurtz Modern Prohibition: The Drinking Age Debate In 1984, a bill was proposed to the U.S. congress to raise the national legal drinking age to 21 from 18 years old. The bill was proposed due to the high rates of drunk-driving incidents during the time period. The ideas of promoting responsibility and safety into young American adults were among the most popular pushes behind the legislation. Not only was this bill proposed, but it was passed through congress and is now a nation-wide law. The 21-and-over drinking laws have actually made for a more dangerous environment for American teenagers by prompting them to do their drinking in private, unsupervised environments.
Alon Leichman ESL Professor Tharp Argumentative Essay Spring 2012 Lowering the Drinking Age in the U.S. Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of old, many people have strong opinions about the drinking age in the United States. A majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. I would like to propose an agenda that might bring a change to the legal drinking age in the United States. I think that the drinking age is too high and should be lowered to the age of 18.
Professor Zapolski mentions of a survey that reports,“ High school seniors, about 20 percent binge drinks, consuming more than 5 drinks in one occasion.” This shows how much an high school student will and can drink before reaching 20 years old. Professor Tina Watson states a research done by Christopher Carpenter and Carlos Dobkins who suggested, “ Arrest rates for violent and nuisance crimes rise sharply at age 21 though at least age 23.” Both claims that drinking at the legal age has caused a rise in crime and criminal behavior in young adults. Yet, many think that lowering or keeping it the same age will benefit and educate young adults. Professor Steinberg believes, “ Lowering the drinking age to 19, which would help solve the problem of illegal drinking on campus.” Steinberg claims lowering the age to 19 will prevent illegal activities on campus. Professor Glaser expresses.“ America’s 18 -year-old have the right to vote, marry, buy a gun and join the military."
Statistics The Century Council has been a leader in the fight against underage drinking for nearly two decades. While rates have declined, alcohol consumption among youth under the legal drinking age remains at an alarming level. More than 10 million youths, ages 12 to 20, in this country report they have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. The rate of current alcohol consumption increases with increasing age according to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2% at age 12 to 21% at age 16, and 56% at age 20. The Century Council works with all segments of the community, including parents, youth, law enforcement, judges, educators, public officials, government agencies, and advocacy groups to provide valuable information and develop comprehensive programs to delay first consumption of alcohol, prevent underage drinking, and reduce the access to alcohol by minors.