The details
According to the study, 10.3 percent of high school students 16 and older reported drinking and driving in the previous 30 days in 2011, compared with 22.3 percent in 1991.
“We’ve seen really good progress,” Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the centers, told reporters. “We’re moving in the right direction, but we need to keep up the momentum.”
The reason for the decline
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attribute the decrease, in part, to harsher punishment for those who drink and then get behind the wheel.
Steve Fernan, who directs wellness and prevention for the Department of Public Instruction in Wisconsin, says tougher laws on parents who supply alcohol to minors has also helped.
“I think there’s also been an awareness that’s been increased through the Parents Who Host Lose the Most statewide campaign that’s been going on for a number of years, trying to encourage parents not to serve as social hosts for underage drinking,” Fernan told Wisconsin Public Radio
Frieden agrees. “Children see how their parents drive from a young age and model that behavior,” he said. “Parents are a key part of the equation here.”
Crashes statistics still high
While the decrease in drinking and driving is a notable, there are still about a million high school students who consumed alcohol before driving last year.
Drinking and driving among teenagers is a factor in more than 800 deaths annually, and car crashes remain the leading cause of death among people aged 16 to 19, The NY Times reported.
Your thoughts?
What are your thoughts on the report? Are you a parent? If so, how do you address drinking and driving with your teen?
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