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Abstract
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In working with problem drinkers and with alcohol education programs, it has become increasingly apparent that the reduction in the legal age requirements for purchase and consumption of liquor (including beer and wine) has resulted in a dramatic upward surge in the numbers of young people involved in drinking and its ramifications - arrests for drunk driving, accidents, injuries and deaths. This alarming trend is beginning to become clear in the statistics in our courts and on our highways. It is a critical problem that requires prompt attention to avert the increasingly disastrous effect on this group.
A series of proposals will be made to cope with this problem in the following manner. First, there will be a brief description of the problem. This will be followed by a presentation, indicating the level of highway fatalities for adolescents and young adults. The increase in these occurrences will be correlated with the effect of lowering drinking ages and a consideration of the effect of lower drinking ages on increasing accessibility of alcohol to younger teenagers. This problem is of special significance because: the younger the drinker, the less likely he or she is to be able to recognize personal limits, and the more likely they are to be drinking in situations where peer pressure leads to excess and where they are going to have to drive and very soon. These drinkers do not have the advantage of being able to stay out until the alcohol has an opportunity to be eliminated from their systems or of drinking where at least some of their companions are likely to be sober.
After presentation of the problem and the statistical material, the proposals to alleviate the problem will be presented. These proposals will be presented with a brief analysis of their desirability, their social, legal and political feasibility, and their probable impact on the problem. For example, a proposal to raise the legal drinking age would be one which might be desirable but would be difficult to implement. Another proposal would be to require successful completion of an Alcohol Highway Safety Project as a prerequisite for obtaining a driver learners permit. This would be a feasible program and one which, based on effectiveness of some existing AHSP's, would be likely to have a favorable impact on the problem. The conclusion of the paper would include a recommended program with suggestions on possible ways to implement several of the proposals. |