Teenage Drinking and Driving

Teen is an age where everything seems like an adventure. Right from your first crush to your first car, it feels like you've been born again. It's also an age where girls and boys suddenly think that they can take better decisions for themselves. In some cases, this thought turns out to be very mature, while in some it causes damage. When a boy or a girl reaches the teenage years, they want to try everything that they were stopped from doing when they were small, for instance; night outs, going to late night parties, staying late out, and the worst - trying alcohol. There's something unique and weird about alcohol that I still don't understand, people know it's harmful but still consume it. Alcohol is one of the first things that kids want to try when they become a teenager. Young teens are unaware of drunk driving facts, and the US being a care free society, records more cases of teen drunk and driving than most countries in the world.

Teens have an active social life, which means every alternate day is party time. Most parties are just incomplete without alcohol and various types of liqueurs. Teens usually get high on such occasions and drive back home when they can't even handle the steering of the car. Alcohol causes dizziness, poor judgment and weak brain functioning of brain cells which then causes a car crash. In 48% cases of car crashes in the US, the driver was found to be under the influence of alcohol. With teenagers driving under the influence of alcohol becoming a daily occurrence, it's time we educate our children about teenage drunk driving statistics and facts.

Information on Driving under Alcohol

The most serious consequence of teenage drinking is early dependence. Many doctors say that teens in America start drinking at an early age of 15, and are 4 times more likely to develop an alcohol addiction than those who don't drink their first glass before the age of 21. With alcohol addiction comes another problem which is drinking and driving, in the year 2009 almost all fatal crashes involved teens who were under the influence of alcohol. Teens generally don't realize that they are too impaired to drive, most of them are just afraid to call home for a ride. Regardless what the reason is, teens who drink regularly often drive under the influence of alcohol. Frequent alcohol drinking also causes risk taking behavior and leads to the consumption of other drugs.

Teenage Drinking and Driving Statistics

Why do teens take up alcohol? This question can have a lot of answers; to be cool in front of friends, to get adjusted in to a new life, some thing's bothering them and the most common they have seen their fathers drinking many times. However, if you have a look at drinking and driving statistics, you'll be shaken to the core.

• In the US, every 22 minutes, an alcohol related motor accident happens.
• On any given day, 2 out of 10 drivers on America's roads has been drinking.
• One of the most appalling drinking and driving statistics, the chance of you or someone from your family being in an alcohol related motor accident is very high. If you look at the figures, in a family of 5, there's a 200% chance that someone might find themselves in a alcohol related car accident.
• Most deaths that have occurred in car accidents come in the age group of 15 to 24.
• In a single year, more than 500 teens were arrested while they were intoxicated.
• 70% of teens consume alcohol.
• More than 60% of teens drinking and driving die to drunk driving every year in the US.

Drinking and Driving Risks

It's always hard for any parent to agree that their children may suffer from a drinking problem. The young generation of today is under a lot of pressure to perform up to society's standards, especially in academics. Pressure forces teens to make difficult choices, but it's very necessary that they should be aware of the drinking and driving consequences; so that they can grow up to be mature and responsible adults. You would be pained to know that most car accidents happening across the world are due to drunk driving and in most cases teens are the ones who are driving. Young and inexperienced drivers don't understand the concept of driving safety, but they get on the wheel and most teens drive while they are drunk. Statistics show that 1 out of 5 teens between the ages of 12 to 13 at least drink alcohol twice a month.

Once teens get their driving license, they just zoom off to pubs and discos, and drink with friends and return home drunk. Law enforcement in the US tries to make sure that teenage drinking is prevented, and in 1984, President Ronald Regan upped the legal drinking age to 21 and also added several penalties for teens who drink. However, that's not enough; a patient parent, and information on teenage drinking and driving facts are two most important tools to prevent this epidemic of teenage drinking.