We cannot legally purchase a handgun, gamble in a casino, or adopt a child until the age of twenty one. These are a high level of responsibility and our leaders and patrons feel they are at equal levels. Our Minimum Legal Drinking Age has reduced traffic accidents and fatalities. 100 of 102 analyses inquired in a 202 meta-study found that a higher legal drinking age associates with lower rates of automobile accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated a 13% decrease in car fatalities in 1975-2008 saving approximately 27,052 lives since then.
Twenty-thousand young lives saved. Twenty-thousand families kept whole. Over the past 20 years, the number of 15 to 20 year olds killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes has been cut in half. The number of 15 to 20 year olddrinking drivers involved in fatal crashes also has been cut in half. This does not even take into account the huge number of drownings, burns, sexual assaults, suicides and homicides that have been averted by the "21" law.
The drinking age should not be lowered to 18. Lowering the drinking age from 21 years old to 18 years old could lead to an increase in dangerous behavior such as drunken driving and car accidents, risk of developing alcoholism and people under the age of 21 do not fully understand the dangers of alcohol. A teenage driver and alcohol is a dangerous combination. Drinking and driving accidents are the number one cause of death among teenagers. “Traffic deaths from drunken driving have fallen steadily, with those involving teenagers 16 to 19 declining by 39.1 percent from 1982 to 1990, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)”.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s when many states had lowered the MLDA, besides the rise in drunk-driving deaths, studies showed that people raised from childhood in under-21 states were involved in higher rates of alcohol and drug use as adults, and had a higher rate of homicides and suicides. (Moses, 2011) This in turn convinced federal law makers to raise the MLDA again to 21. However, in order to encourage states to comply, the federal government would tighten their purse strings and states would receive little or no funding towards highways. So while there are those who do not necessarily care one way or the other about the actual age limit on alcohol consumption, they do prefer having the federal
Push for P-plates until 25 Forcing young drivers to remain on probationary licenses until the age of 25 would cut Victoria's road toll, says the state's top traffic police officer. Under the move, young adults would have to drive with a zero blood alcohol level for an extra three years, or for the first seven years of solo driving. Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill, who wants the community to consider making the change, said 40 per cent of people aged 20 to 25 who were killed or injured on Victorian roads every year were victims of drink-driving. Mr. Hill said medical research showed that the brain did not develop fully until the mid-to-late 20s, particularly the part that controlled decision-making. ''What I'm advocating is a community
Lowering the drinking age to 18 will lead to under age drinking in bars and nightclubs, which are known to be unsafe environments. Studies have shown that fatal car accident happen after nightclub and bar outings. About 1900 people under the age of 21 die in car accidents related to underage drinking every year.
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,
Running Head: LOWER LEGAL DRINKING AGE Lowering the Legal Drinking Age July 12, 2009 The drinking age is a complex issue that needs to be addressed. The legal drinking age has fluctuated variously throughout the last thirty years changing from twenty-one to eighteen and then back to twenty-one again. Many people would say that the current age is fine because the later in life a person can drink the later they can drink and drive. As this is true there might be a better solution to the problem. The legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one years old to eighteen years old because the United States has the highest legal age in the world, eighteen year old soldiers
Brent Evans Mr. Calver American Lit 2: 1st period May 14, 2012 The Perks of Fitting In As shown Stephen Chbosky’s novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” too many teenagers these days take far more dangerous drugs, and make far worse choices in the acts they take place in. About 75% of high school students have tried alcohol, and about 26% of teens have had a recent episode of heavy drinking (more than 5 drinks within a couple of hours). “When the police came, they found my brother asleep on the roof. Nobody knows how he got there ”(Chbosky 105). In Stephen Chbosky’s novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, teens abuse alcohol, drugs, and unsafe sex.
An average of 17,000 individuals die each year in drink driving related deaths. The numbers have come down slightly , for example, in 2010 10,228 individuals died from drink driving related fatalities, drink driving continues to be an enormously important public safety issue. What is more, drinking and driving is strongly correlated with youth. After the age of 25, the drink driving rates rapidly decrease. It seems quite plausible that were alcohol to be illegal for those under the age of 18, the 15.1% of 18 to 20 year olds who drink before getting behind the wheel would decrease significantly.