Report Finds Older Drinking Age Saves Lives
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August 22, 2008
A higher drinking age really does save lives, according to a new study. In what is considered one of the most comprehensive studies on the minimum legal drinking age, research reveals an 11 percent drop in alcohol-related traffic deaths among those under age 21.
In 1984, the federal government passed legislation to make the minimum legal drinking age 21 throughout the United States, and by 1988, every state had enforced the new age 21 law. “There has been evidence since the 1980s that an increase in drinking age to 21 was having an impact on traffic deaths,” said James Fell, the study’s corresponding author. “But this is the first time we’ve been able to tease out the real effect, free of the variables that had been used to question the validity of the evidence.”
Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (a database of all police-reported motor vehicles) were reanalyzed for the new study. In the study, the researchers focused on factors such as improved safety features in cars, better roadways, and tougher drunk driving laws. They controlled for more variables than any other previous study. Fell said the 11 percent drop could actually be a conservative figure, and the effect could actually be higher.
The research also revealed that states with strong laws against fake IDs reported 7 percent fewer alcohol-related deaths among youths.
The article was published in the July 2008 issue of Accident Analysis Prevention.
For more information, read the press release, visit the journal’s Web site, or read the abstract.