Drinking and driving is a big problem that affects teenagers all over the world. People would think that with all the laws cracking down on the sale of alcohol to minors, and education about the consequences of drinking and driving would make a difference. Everyone knows that drinking and driving is dangerous, but don't realize it affects the driver, passengers, and people on the streets. The laws should be stricter about underage drinking, there should be more education about the consequences of drinking and driving, and the drinking age should not be lowered. Even though under age drinking is illegal, teenagers are starting to drink at younger ages, which is leading to risky behaviors (Dedel). Some common behaviors known to happen while under the influence include, driving, property damage, rape, and other violent crimes. The major problem for teenagers is driving while they are under the influence. The laws need to be stricter when it comes to under age drinking. Most teenagers do not have the mindset to drink responsibly and can lead to negative effects, that could not only harm them but harm other people too. Police need to crack down on all underage drinkers so that nobody does anything that could harm them, like getting into a car and driving or riding in a car with someone who is drunk.. Most teenagers don’t think that drinking while they are under the influence is a big problem. Kelly Dedel stated, “Underage college students who drink heavily are more likely to
Underage drinking was, is, and always will be a problem. No matter the drinking age, teenagers will find a way to score some alcohol somewhere. Many college students actually invest in fake ID’s. This is a common way for people underage to acquire alcohol. The maturity level of teenagers is not great enough to withstand the power to buy alcohol. Teenagers are less responsible and there are studies that show it. A study commenced by “dui.drivinglaws.org” recorded that seventeen percent of fatal accidents happen from underage drunk drivers. If the law was lowered it would be medically irresponsible. The brain of young adults is nowhere near fully developed as a teenager.
Drinking and driving is one of the biggest social issues for teens across the United States. Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after consuming alcohol is a very dangerous thing no matter what age you are. However, teens do not think about the consequences of drinking and driving until it is already too late. Many things contribute to this growing problem of teen drinking and driving. First, there is a lack of education about drinking and driving in schools today. Next, peer pressure is difficult for many teens to resist. Finally, the access that teens have to alcohol and to vehicles is not monitored. According to blah blah study, 000% of high school students admit
The actions being taken are creating sobriety checkpoints, ignition interlocks, mass media campaigns, car services, school-based instructional programs, and the upcoming innovations in self-driving cars. Sobriety checkpoints can help in a major way because they can prevent drunk driving accidents from occurring and it can also lead people to not drink or take a car service. Ignition interlocks can also be a big help because if the person in the driver’s seat has over a certain BAC then the car won’t start. Mass media campaigns also work because they show the consequences of driving drunk and the possibilities that can happen. I remember seeing mass media campaign commercials of people who drove drunk and killed someone and they ended up being jailed for years. This strongly advised me at a young age to not drive drunk when I get to the legal age of consumption. School programs can also solve this issue because it can give the students an emotional and first hand experience that will strongly advise them to not drink and drive. The thing that I think contributes most in the area that I live, to prevent drunk driving, is “Uber” and “Lyft.” Most of the time people know if they’re going to go out and drink, and if you plan to take an “Uber” or “Lyft” then you can go out and drink without having to drive home. These car services are also extremely easy to use because you can get a ride with the click of a button. With all these alternatives to drunk driving, this is a perfect time to lower the drinking age. I would lower it even further than 18, but the main reason why I didn’t decide to make it lower is because of brain development in young teenagers. These are the main reasons why the drinking age should be lowered to age 18. If people still decide to drive drunk with all these alternatives, then they’re just “stupid”, and people
Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. A dangerous issue facing society today is the problem of teen drinking and driving. Currently an approximate of 10,076 people die in drunk driving crashes per year. If positive progress to ceasing this act does not happen, teens will continue to drink and drive putting everybody on the road at risk. Teens who drink and drive put everyone on the road at risk, causing serious crashes that could be preventable.
The first group will be tested for the effectiveness of a positive advertisement within an academic setting. The advertisement, shown in Appendix A, will be placed around the university setting where the participants will be asked to meet the researchers. The researchers will ask the students to walk around and read the many different positive advertisements while consuming one to two provided alcoholic beverages. The advertisements placed within this setting are priming the students about drinking and driving. After an hour within this
A college report showed that most kids are drinking to get drunk. In college a large sum and the majority of students are under twenty one. This fact is showing the immaturity of the students and more reasons the age should be twenty-one to drink. Drinking to get drunk and binge drinking are irresponsible which those under twenty-one are continually showing that they are. Yes there are adults who drink irresponsibly but the majority handle alcohol maturily. Some argue that there are children who drink responsibly, how can a minor drink responsibly when drinking at all is illegal. Binge drinking does more than harm the body , thsi is another reason the drinking age at eighteen would harm college students. Binge drinking increases academic struggles in students and while eveyone may not believe this, the actual reason for college is an education. By binge drinking obtaining this goal can be a challenge. While the college life is a large part of the legal drinking age there are other reasons it should stay at twenty-one. Drinking and driving is not acceptable by any age group and effects many lives every day. A vehicle is a weapon and operating this such weapon while intoxicated, or under the influence of any substance that will decrease your ability to operate the vehicle is foolish and dangerous for the driver, its passengers, and anyone who may be unfortunate enough to
Age maturity is a big when dealing with alcohol. It’s obvious that teenagers under 21 are not yet mature, and are still trying to figure out their life. Even at the age of 18 they are entering a new phase with work, college, and a stage of independence. Nowadays parents allow their teens to consume alcohol as long as it is at their home, so they are sure they have a place to stay and can be in control. Some parents introduce alcohol to their teen in a responsible way to teach them and ensure they are safe when they become independent. In this case, teens think drinking is okay. Handling alcohol irresponsibly like this increases the teens killing themselves due to high alcohol content. Research states that if a child under 18 is drinking, they are also getting drunk. They report that 65 % of teens who drink monthly show that they are getting drunk at least once a month (“Underage”). Anything lowered from Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) 21 would be medically irresponsible. The early adult brain can be easily affected and when alcohol interferes it can cause addiction, memory loss, and violence (“Underage”).
The human body does not fully develop, both physically and mentally, until a person is in their early twenties. Several research organizations, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, have found that, “Excessive alcohol abuse can lead to permanent brain damage while negatively affecting a person’s memory, motor skills, and test-taking abilities,” (Minimum Drinking Age). Since alcohol has such drastic effects on the human body and its ability to function properly, we cannot allow teenager full access to it under any circumstance. Supporters of the 21-and-over drinking age are quick to get behind research that has discovered, “Alcohol use could severely damage teenagers more-sensitive livers,” (Minimum Drinking Age). I think teenagers need to have a better understanding of what they are putting in their bodies, especially if they are ingesting alcohol. If they don’t understand what the harmful ingredients and chemicals in alcohol can do to them, they could end up with serious health problems. The United States has been debating this topic for such a long time that we have lost sight of what is truly important: the safety of the younger generation and how we can maintain
According to medicinenet.com, alcohol is the number one most frequently used drugs by teens in the United States. When minors drink alcohol, most of them don't understand the ramifications it can have on them in the future, their families, and when driving, their communities. This is the exact reason why these laws were put in place, to help diminish the possibility of minors getting addicted or hurting themselves and/or other people.
Drinking and driving is not always a right thing. When people drink and drive the action of it could get extremely dangerous. Wrecks are one of the main problems that can happen when some people are drunk because some can lose control of what they are trying to do and end up wrecking. Another problem is driving under the influence of being on drugs. This can cause serious damage. When people are on drugs, they lose train of thought and half of the time, they forget what they are doing. It does not end too well. People can become abusive because they usually do not exactly know what they are doing. Usually, people do drugs to get their minds or to make them feel better when they are emotional, but when others do so much, they lose control
Studies suggest that if the legal drinking age was lowered, then young adults would go about drinking safer due to it taking away the thrill of breaking the law. Binge drinking is often done at parties, but with the drinking age being lowered, parties would not be stopped. However, they would be more controlled. Lowering the drinking age would lead to young adults drinking in moderation (“Post Letter” 1). Main stated that before the drinking age was raised the drinking and driving rate among young adults skyrocketed (Main). Now with the increased awareness about drinking and driving that young adults are shown, studies have proven that the amount of people drinking and driving has decreased (“Why Colleges”
Another concern is the behavior of adolescent binge drinkers. In other research it is shown that binge drinkers were more likely to engage in risky driving, such as speeding, running yellow lights, racing other cars, and passing in no passing lanes (Marcotte, T. D., Bekman, N. M., Meyer, R. A., & Brown, S. A. (2012). They also participate more in distractive activities that take their focus away from the road such as changing the station or music on the car stereo system and texting or dialing on their cell phones. In order to reduce the fatalities associated with adolescents and driving under the influence, Graduate Driver Licensing has been implemented in several U.S. States. With the use of Graduated Driver Licensing this would help lower the percentage of fatal crashes by way of new drivers being required to
Simultaneously, accidents involving automobiles without a doubt are devastating. How would one feel if a loved one was killed in a collision due to an intoxicated driver? Wouldn’t the individual want to do something about it? The death of the Candy Lightner’s daughter lead to her development of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act. This act gave full federal highway funds only to states that set the minimum age to purchase or consume alcohol at twenty-one years (Sanghavi). Once all states raised their MLDA to twenty-one years, drunk-driving accidents and deaths decreased. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the reduction in traffic fatalities due to the legal drinking age of twenty-one prevented 846 deaths in 1997 and prevented a total of 17,359 deaths since 1975 (Balkin 168). This single statistic shows that automobile accidents have substantially decreased in response to the authorization of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. In addition, the average teenager earns their drivers license at the age of seventeen. This being said, allowing a young driver with only one years experience (excluding a learners permit) to legally consume alcohol would surely be an irresponsible decision. Most people know
If we would lower the legal drinking age the amount of car crashes would increase. A 1975 study showed that when 2 U.S states and a province in Canada lowered the legal-drinking age it increased fatal car accidents. Since the 1970’s young drinking in the U.S has declined, most of the decline happened in the 90’s. And decreases the amount of drunk drivers. Researchers say
Underage alcohol drinking can have devastating effects on teenagers. It can affect teens' grades, health and many other things as well. The reasons why teenagers consume alcohol are pretty clear. What aren’t clear are the solutions to eliminating, or at least reducing the number of underage drinkers. It is vital that we do something to at least suppress this problem. By taking action, we can greatly reduce the number of underage drinkers and it could also save not only their lives, but also someone else's life as well. Underage drinking can cause many health problems as well as educational problems in a teen’s life; therefore our country needs to decrease the number of underage drinkers by increasing both the price of alcohol as well as the legal drinking age.