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THE IMPACT OF THE CHANGE IN THE DRINKING AGE ON THE COLLISION BEHAVIOR OF YOUNG DRIVERS

The impact of the change in the legal drinking age, which occurred in July 1971, on the collision behavior of young drivers in London, Ontario is examined. Data on all collisions involving drivers 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 24 years of age between January 1968 and July 1973 were culled from police files and coded so as to produce the basis for a time series analysis. The results clearly indicate that the change in the drinking age resulted in an increase in alcohol-involved collisions and in total collisions among drivers between the ages of 16 and 20. Eighteen and 19 year olds demonstrate the largest increases in alcohol-involved collisions. The change in the drinking age accounts for almost half of the increase in total collisions among drivers 18-20 years old and for almost the total increase among 16 and 17 year old drivers. Consideration is given to alternative hypotheses that might account for the increase in alcohol-involved and total collisions, e.g., changed reporting practices on the part of the police, but these are not affirmed by the data at hand. /Author/

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Presented to the Sixth International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, Toronto, September 1974.
  • Corporate Authors:

    University of Western Ontario

    1151 Richmond Street, Suite 2
    London, Ontario N6A 5B8,   Canada 
  • Authors:
    • Whitehead, P C
    • Craig, J
    • Langford, N
    • Macarthur, C
  • Publication Date: 1974-9

Media Info

  • Features: Tables;
  • Pagination: 26 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00084399
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: National Safety Council Safety Research Info Serv
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jul 2 1975 12:00AM