Is alcohol an important factor in teenagers crashes?
Yes. Young drivers are less likely than adults to drive after drinking, but their crash risk is substantially higher when they do. This is especially true at low and moderate blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and is thought to result from teenagers’ relative inexperience with both drinking and driving. Twenty-three percent of drivers of passenger vehicles ages 16-19 who were fatally injured in 1999 crashes had high BACs (0.10 percent or more), even though every state has a legal minimum alcohol purchasing age of 21 years old.
