U.S. teen drinking and driving drops by more than half

Ohio spent $1.98M in federal grants for OVI task forces


Ohio drivers involved in alcohol-related fatal crashes

2011

All ages: 315 of 1,445 drivers, or 21.8 percent

Ages 16 to 20: 27 of 161 drivers, or 16.8 percent

2010

All ages: 379 of 1,526 drivers, or 24.8 percent

Ages 16 to 25: 95 of 338, or 28.1 percent

2009

All ages: 339 of 1,446 drivers, or 23.1 percent

Ages 16 to 25: 339 of 1,446, or 23.4 percent

2008

All ages: 392 of 1,557 drivers, or 23.5 percent

Ages 16 to 25: 98 of 369, or 26.6 percent

2007

All ages: 419 of 1,748 drivers or 24 percent

Ages 16 to 25: 126 of 441 or 28.6 percent

2006

All ages: 439 of 1,737 drivers, or 25.3 percent

Ages 16 to 25: 119 of 430, or 27.7 percent

Source: Ohio Department of Public Safety

The number of U.S. teens self-reporting drinking and driving dropped by more than half between 1991 and 2011, federal health officials said Tuesday.

In 1991, 22.3 percent of teens in high school reported drinking and driving; last year, the number dropped to 10.3 percent, a decline of 54 percent. In Ohio, 9.3 percent of students 16 and older reported driving after drinking in 2011. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied data from its annual Youth Risk Behavioral Survey for the report.

The decline is good news, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the CDC, but data show that teens are responsible for more than 2.4 million incidents of drinking and driving a month, which indicates that more work needs to be done.

Federal funding aimed at preventing driving while impaired rose to $125.7 last year from $118.2 million in 2006, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This year, Ohio has allocated $1.98 million in federal grants to OVI task forces in 10 regions, including Butler, Clark and Montgomery counties.

“We’re moving in the right direction, but we need more momentum,” Frieden said. “Drunk driving is a major risk factor. The leading cause of death for teens is road vehicle crashes, and reducing drinking and driving is something we can do to reduce those deaths even further.”

In 2010, 3,405 U.S. drivers between ages 16 and 19 were involved in fatal crashes; of those, 20 percent, or 697, tested positive for alcohol use. Of those who had used alcohol, 81 percent, or 568, had blood-alcohol levels at or higher than 0.08 percent, the level designated as illegal for adult drivers, according to data from the NHTSA.

CDC researchers credited policy changes enacted since the 1980s and greater education warning teens and parents of the dangers of driving while impaired for the reduction.

Among the factors that work:

  • Minimum legal drinking age: Every state in the U.S. makes it illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under 21.
  • Zero tolerance laws making it illegal for anyone under 21 to drive after drinking alcohol.
  • Graduated driver licensing. In Ohio, drivers 16 and 17 face restrictions on when they can drive and how many passengers can be in the car with them.
  • Parental involvement, including parent-teen driving "contracts" that spell out the rules of the road, including teens using seat belts and calling for a ride home if they've been drinking.

Andrea Rehkamp, a co-founder of the Southwest Ohio chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, called the CDC report “great news.”

“Hopefully, it’s because of all the information and the programs that are out there educating young people about the dangers of drinking and driving before the age of 21. I would like to think that’s the reason, rather than teens under-reporting,” Rehkamp said.

Her son, Ken, was killed Oct. 16, 1981, just eight days after his 14th birthday. He accepted a ride home from a football game with a high school senior who had been drinking. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which went airborne. Ken burned to death; the driver was not injured.

“My beautiful, intelligent son died a very painful and violent death,” Rehkamp said. “There was nothing accidental about it. This time of the year, it’s very difficult for me.”

Law enforcement agencies use a variety of strategies to change driver behavior, said Lt. Anne Ralston, spokeswoman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol. DUI checkpoints and consistent enforcement of open container and underage drinking laws help discourage drinking and driving, she said.

“We want to send a strong message that this is a violation of the law, that this is dangerous and people can get hurt,” she said.

The highway patrol and other police agencies conduct a variety of teen driver safety education programs. In August, the highway patrol and the Ohio High School Athletic Association launched a program encouraging teens to make responsible decisions while they’re driving, whether it’s about driving after drinking, texting and driving or driving recklessly.

“When they’re behind that wheel, there’s no one else in control of that vehicle but them, and they have to accept that responsibility,” Ralston said.

Nationally, traffic fatalities and drunken driving crash fatalities both decreased for all age groups between 2007 to 2010. Overall fatalities dropped 23 percent, while crash fatalities involving alcohol dropped 24 percent, according to federal data.

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