Have the percentages of teenage drivers fatally injured in vehicle crashes because of drinking changed over time?
During the 1980s, the percentages of fatally injured drivers with high BACs (0.10 percent or more) declined among drivers of all ages. Reductions were greatest among young drivers, in part, because of changes in age laws for purchasing alcohol. In 1980, fewer than half of the states had alcohol-purchasing requirements for 21 year-olds, although 49 percent of all fatally injured drivers younger than 21 had high BACs. This percentage declined dramatically as states adopted older ages for purchasing alcohol, and by 1998 it had declined to 22 percent, the biggest improvement for any age group. (IIHS) • How serious is the teenage motor vehicle crash problem? In 1998, 5,606 teenagers died in the United States from injuries in motor vehicle crashes. The crash risk is particularly high during the first years in which teenagers are eligible for driver’s licenses. Thirty-six percent of all deaths of 16 to 19 year-olds from all causes are related to motor vehicle crashes. (IIHS) • Do teenagers re
