Facts Ablout Teens Drinking and Driving

Over 1.41 million drivers were arrested in 2010 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

Almost half of all drivers who were killed in crashes and tested positive for drugs also had alcohol in their system Impairment is not determined by the type of drink, but rather by the amount of alcohol ingested over a specific period of time In 2010, 211 children were killed in drunk driving crashes. Out of those 211 deaths, 131 (62 percent) were riding with the drunk driver. Kids who start drinking young are seven times more likely to be in an alcohol-related crash. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and about one-third of those are alcohol related Teen alcohol use kills about 6000 people each year, more than all illegal drugs combined One in five teens binge drink. Only 1 in 100 parents believes his or her teen binge drinks Almost every 90 seconds, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash.

  Teenage car accidents are the leading cause of teen death, totaling to almost 5,000 fatalities last year. One reason for this is simply immaturity, as for at that young age many teens drive recklessly, race others, and drive beyond the speed limit in order to simply catch that green light. Another cause is inexperience, as in a teen’s first 500 miles on the road they are 10 times more likely to get in a crash than the average adult. Nearly 1/3 of teen car accidents are caused by speeding and ¼ are caused by teen drinking. Just as teenagers lack experience in driving, they also lack experience in knowing how alcohol will affect their driving, causing very dangerous conditions on the road. Distractions are also a main cause in crashes, whether it’s using their cell phone, the radio, or even eating. Around 56% of teen drivers admit to texting while driving. It is also proven that as the number of passengers in the car increase, the likelihood of a fatal crash also increases. This is caused by the young drivers being agitated by loud or irritating passengers, turning to talk to people in the backseat, and also their friends encouraging risky driving. Teenage car accidents are clearly a huge problem, but knowing the causes is the first step to safe driving.