Teenagers" driving while intoxicated is a very serious problem in the United States today. America has faced this problem ever since alcohol and driving were intermingled. Since eighteen year-olds already have the disadvantage of being inexperienced, alcohol only adds to their troubles. The current situation in America does not look promising, but there are solutions to the problem of drunk driving, along with organizations against it. With people's growing awareness of this serious problem among young people, it might be possible to get it more under control.
Teenagers in the United States may not seem to drink and drive that much, but the fact is that 40% of all teenage deaths occur in car accidents. Also, 38.9% of those accidents were related to alcohol. However, the statistics state that alcohol related crashes have gone done very much in the past few years. Between 1985 and 1995, the portion of drivers 16-20 year-olds who were involved in fatal accidents where they were intoxicated dropped from 23.9% to 12.7%. This was the largest decrease in that time of all of the age groups tested. Also, high school seniors reporting alcohol use dropped from 72% to 51% from 1985 to 1995. We, as Americans, are obviously trying to stop the unnecessary killing of many teenagers who drive while intoxicated. The facts speak for themselves, the statistics are going down, showing that people are growing more and more aware of the situation and the seriousness of it. As long as people continue to take drunk driving seriously the numbers will continue to drop. However, if people ignore the problem, then teenagers are going to resort back to their ways or drinking and driving without thinking about the consequences.
Although there is no obvious solution to stopping teenage drunk driving for good, police officers are trying to put an end to it. They are enacting stiffer penalties for teenagers arrested for drunk driving.
