EVALUATIONS OF MINIMUM DRINKING AGE LAWS
This statement discusses the U.S. General Accounting Office's study of evaluative evidence about the effects of increasing the minimum drinking age. It is noted that 23 states have raised their minimum alcohol purchase age since the passage of the 1984 law. However 7 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have yet to legislate a minimum age of 21 years. An analysis was performed of the technical and methodological soundness of existing evaluations of minimum-age laws, and the credibility of claims based on their findings were assessed. The results of these studies form the basis of this statement. Fourteen traffic accident studies found that raising the age reduced the traffic accidents. Also, with regard to driver fatal crash involvements, statistically significant reductions were found for the affected age group. Other studies discussed include driver fatal and injury accidents, driver crash involvements, injury crash involvements, and total fatalities. Studies that considered the following are also discussed: alcohol consumption/driving after drinking; spillover effects for underage youth; border-crossing; and long term effects.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Statement before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
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Corporate Authors:
U.S. General Accounting Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20548 -
Authors:
- Chelimsky, E
- Publication Date: 1986-9-19
Media Info
- Features: Appendices;
- Pagination: 16 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Adolescents; Alcoholic beverages; Drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Evaluation; Fatalities; Injuries; Laws; Legal drinking age; Measures of effectiveness; Safety; Statistics; Studies; Teenage drivers; Traffic crashes; Traffic safety
- Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness
- Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Data and Information Technology; Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00462126
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Jan 31 1987 12:00AM