Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21?

Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21?

Do you remember your first taste of alcohol? How old were you? Twenty-one? All 50 states currently demand that their citizens reach age 21 before they can legally drink. But there's a growing movement that says mandatory minimum laws may do more harm than good. When determining the right date when a young person can take one of their final steps towards personal responsibility and freedom, what's the right answer?

Next question in Society

  • “No”
  • “Objection”
PIRE

Minimum Drinking Age Laws have Proven Their Effectiveness

Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

Perhaps no alcohol safety measure has attracted more research and public attention or shown more consistent evidence for its effectiveness than the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) 21 law in the United States. MLDA laws were established in the States after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 (21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution). Many States set the MLDA at 21 during that time. When the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1971 (26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution), many States lowered their drinking age to 18 or 19. Studies in the 1970s and 1980s showed significant increases in alcohol-related crashes involving youth aged 18-20 in States that lowered their drinking age. Consequently, the U.S. Congress adopted the National Uniform Drinking Age 21 Act and President Reagan signed the bill into law in 1984. Since 1988, the MLDA has been 21 in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. Between 1982 and 1998, the population-adjusted involvement rate of drinking drivers aged 20 and younger in fatal crashes decreased 59 percent. MLDA-21 laws have been shown to be associated with this decline. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has estimated that MLDA laws save approximately 900 lives a year in traffic fatalities alone. Contrary to all the research that has demonstrated the effectiveness of MLDA 21 and the lives it has saved over the years, there are still some critics of the drinking age and there are movements in some States to lower it again.

Evidence

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The Minimum Legal Drinking Age: History, Effectiveness, and Ongoing...
Toomey TL, Rosenfeld C, Wagenaar AC. The minimum legal drinking age: History, effectiveness, and ongoing debate. Alcohol Health Res World. 1996;20(4):213-218.
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Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws on Alcohol Use, Related...
O'Malley PM, Wagenaar AC. Effects of minimum drinking age laws on alcohol use, related behaviors and traffic crash involvement among American youth: 1976–1987. J Stud Alcohol. 1991;52(5):478-491.
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Determine Why There are Fewer Young Alcohol-Impaired Drivers
Hedlund JH, Ulmer RG, Preusser DF. Determine Why There are Fewer Young Alcohol-Impaired Drivers. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation; 2001. DOT HS 809 348.
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Reviews of Evidence Regarding Interventions to Reduce Alcohol...
Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Alao MO, Carande-Kulis VG, Zaza S, Sosin DM, Thompson RS, Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. Am J Prev Med. 2001;21(4 Suppl):66-88.
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Assessing the Effectiveness of Minimum Legal Drinking Age and Zero...
Voas RB, Tippetts AS, Fell J. Assessing the effectiveness of minimum legal drinking age and zero tolerance laws in the United States. Accid Anal Prev. 2003;35(4):579-587.
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Traffic Safety Facts: 2005 Data - Young Drivers.
National Center for Statistics and Analysis. Traffic safety facts: 2005 data - young drivers. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 2005. DOT HS 810 630.
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Effect of Raising the Legal Drinking Age on Driver Involvement in...
Arnold R. Effect of raising the legal drinking age on driver involvement in fatal crashes: The experience of thirteen states. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 1985. DOT HS 806 902.
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Impact of Minimum Drinking Age Laws on Fatal Crash Involvements:
Womble K. Impact of minimum drinking age laws on fatal crash involvements: An update of the NHTSA analysis. J Traffic Safety Educ. 1989;37:4-5.
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