Drop in Teens’ Drunk Driving May Be Over

WASHINGTON —  Rates of teenagers who drink and drive dropped dramatically in the last decade, but those reductions now have leveled off, says a new study raising concern among alcohol experts.

The prevalence of teen drunken driving fell about 40% from 1984 to 1997, according to the study by Patrick O’Malley of the University of Michigan.

But a closer examination of the 1990s showed the progress may have peaked in 1992, O’Malley reported Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health. Since then, teen drunken driving rates have largely held steady, although he did find a slight, not statistically significant, increase from 1995 to 1997.

What halted the progress?

O’Malley theorizes that teens heard a lot more about the dangers of drunken driving in the 1980s and early 1990s than they do today.

The government already had recorded a 59% reduction in alcohol-related traffic fatalities among 15- to 20-year-olds from 1982 to 1997, said alcohol expert Ralph Hingson of Boston University.

But O’Malley’s findings “should be of concern” because they suggest newer teen drivers aren’t getting the message, he said.

Hingson said part of the problem is lack of enforcement of “zero tolerance” laws that are supposed to cause the immediate revocation of a drivers’ licenses if a teen drives after drinking alcohol. Many teens aren’t aware of those laws, he said.

And about a third of stores sell alcohol without verifying the buyer’s age, said Alexander Wagenaar of the University of Minnesota.