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The number of young people who have died in alcohol-related car
crashes in the US has decreased substantially over the last two
decades, thanks largely to tougher laws on drinking and driving,
according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).They caution, however, that the rate of such
deaths among people aged 18 and older has risen slightly since
1997. "Public health and traffic safety professionals should collaborate
to ensure that every community has a comprehensive and effective
strategy to resume the downward trend in alcohol-impaired driving,"
the CDC notes in the December 6th issue of its Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report.
In 2001, the CDC estimates that 17,448 people died in alcohol-related
car crashes. Since motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause
of death among people between the ages of 16 and 24 "and a substantial
proportion of these crashes are alcohol-related," R. W. Elder
and Dr. R. A. Shults of the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, aimed to
evaluate trends in alcohol-related crashes involving young drivers.
The team analyzed automobile accident data for 1982 through 2001.
During the study period, "fatal crash involvement by drinking
drivers decreased 46%"and the most dramatic decreases were seen
among the youngest drivers. In all, fatal alcohol-related crashes
decreased 60% among drivers aged 16 to 17; 55% for drivers aged
18 to 20; 41% for drivers aged 21 to 24; and 39% for drivers aged
25 and older.
The CDC points out that a number of new laws were enacted in the
1970’s and 1980’s targeting drunk driving among young people,
such as the 1984 Uniform Drinking Age Act requiring all states
to set their legal drinking age at 21 by 1988. Stronger law enforcement,
community-based education and advocacy programs, and shifts in
social norms about alcohol consumption and the acceptability of
alcohol-impaired driving have also played a role the CDC states.
But after 1997, the trend levels out, Elder and Shults found.
Since 1999, rates have increased slightly, by between 4 -10%,
for all age groups except those aged 16 to 17. In an effort to
decrease alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths, the authors recommend
that states maintain and enforce minimum legal drinking age laws
and zero tolerance laws for young drivers, sobriety checkpoints
and training programs for people who serve alcoholic beverages.
SOURCE : Involvement by Young Drivers in Fatal Alcohol-Related
Motor-Vehicle Crashes – United States, 1982<2001. Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report 2002;51:1089-91. |
