ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF MINIMUM DRINKING AGE LAWS IN VIRGINIA
In 1983, Virginia raised the Minimum Drinking Age (MDA) for consumption of beer from 18 to 19 years of age, with a provision allowing those who were previously of legal drinking age to continue to purchase beer. Prior to the passage of this law, persons 18 years of age were permitted to purchase beer for on premises consumption only. Two years later, the legal age for consuming beer was increased to 21, with a similar grandfather clause. Throughout this period the legal age for consumption of wine and liquor remained 21. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was asked to evaluate the effects of these changes as part of Virginia's effort to assess its progress in combatting drunk driving. Findings are that these increases in Virginia's minimum drinking age have been associated with an estimated 19% reduction in fatal crashes involving drivers in affected age groups, and produced an estimated savings of 153 lives since 1984. Included in this Research Note are an explanation of the analytic method employed, statistical results, and futher discussion of the results.
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Authors:
- Walz, M C
- Publication Date: 1991-8
Media Info
- Features: References; Tables;
- Pagination: 3 p.
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Serial:
- RESEARCH NOTES NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
- Publisher: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Alcoholic beverages; Drunk driving; Fatalities; Impacts; Laws; Legal drinking age; Statistics
- Uncontrolled Terms: Beer; Change
- Geographic Terms: Virginia
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; I81: Accident Statistics;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00616376
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: Oct 31 1991 12:00AM