Citation

Callaghan RC, Gatley JM, Sanches M, Asbridge M, Stockwell T. Addiction 2016; 111(6): 994-1003.

Affiliation

Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/add.13310

PMID

26748892

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In Canada, the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is 18 years in Alberta, Manitoba and Québec, and 19 in the rest of the country. Given that public-health organizations not only have recommended increasing the MLDA to 19 years, but also have identified 21 years as ideal, the current study tested whether drivers slightly older than the MLDA had significant and abrupt increases in alcohol-impaired driving (AID) crimes,compared with their counterparts just younger than the MLDA.

DESIGN: Regression-discontinuity approach. SETTING: Canada. SAMPLE: AID criminal incidents by drivers aged 15 to 23 years (female, n = 10,706; male, n = 44,973). MEASUREMENTS: Police-reported AID incidents from the Canadian 2009-2013 Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

FINDINGS: Significant gender-by-MLDA effects supported gender-specific models. Compared with males slightly younger than the MLDA, those just older had abrupt increases in AID incidents of 42.8% (95% CI = 20.4%-66.3%, P < 0.001), 28.1% (95% CI = 16.0%-40.7%, P < 0.001) and 35.1% (95% CI = 22.4%-48.4%, P < 0.001) in provinces with an MLDA of 18 years, 19 years, and across the country, respectively. Among females, AID incidents increased by 39.9% (95% CI = 1.9%-79.6%, P = 0.040) in provinces with an MLDA of 18 years, and by 19.4% (95% CI = 2.1%-37.4%, P = 0.028) at the national level.

CONCLUSION: Release from drinking-age restrictions appears to be associated with increases inalcohol-impaired driving offenses among young drivers in Canada, ranging from 28%-43% among males and 19%-40% among females. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en