While teens admit to clearly hearing messages about the dangers of drinking and driving, new research indicates that teens do not acknowledge the toll alcohol plays on a maturing body or the legal consequences of consuming alcohol underage. Alarmingly, teens studied indicate that consuming alcohol was viewed as a rite of passage in high school as they approached adulthood. The Understanding Teen Drinking Cultures in America study was conducted by George Mason University and funded by The Century Council to learn more about teen drinking habits directly from teens themselves.
Teens admit one of the main reasons they drink alcohol is to reduce stress. Far less emphasis was placed on peer pressure surrounding drinking. In most instances, teens are getting alcohol from older siblings and more often than not are getting away with drinking in their parents’ home without adults recognizing the problem.
One of the main points of interest in the study is that school officials and teens alike agree alcohol awareness programs currently in the schools are ineffective. Both suggest there is a discrepancy on what students are told about alcohol in school and their own experiences.
The study, Understanding Teen Drinking Cultures in America, was an innovative, independent research project designed to better understand the psychological and sociological factors that affect adolescents as they make decisions regarding whether to engage in alcohol-related behaviors.
In Broward County there is a Task Force to Combat Underage Drinking. For more information, contact Pat Castillo, Director of Youth Programs at the Broward County Commission on Substance Abuse at 954-760-7007.
The Task Force to Combat Underage Drinking in Broward County was created in 2004 by The United Way of Broward County Commission on Substance Abuse (BCCSA) with guidance from the Florida Office of Drug Control and funding from the Florida Department of Transportation. The Task Force mission is to reduce underage drinking in Broward County.
Remember, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving, teens driving buzzed kills the same as driving drunk.
Sources: The Century Council, George Mason University, American Family Insurance
Be an educated parent, you will have safer teens.
Comments
It is clear that underage drinking is an issue that is difficult to tackle. However, there are definitely steps that can be taken to reduce it! A big part of it plays at home. It is important for parents to have an open mind to discuss such topics in a well approached manner to get through their teens.
Driving car while drinking is an unethical way to drive car.
Driving schools Merton
Many driving schools like http://www.london-driving-school.com/ are consistently providing guidelines about driving cars and they have forced on not to drink while drive your car.
I'm the owner of a driving school in Brisbane, Australia - http://www.noyelling.com.au. We have similar problems here in Australia, and our driving school encourages young drivers to be aware of the risks involved with drink driving. While parents do play a big role, governments also have a lot of responsibility in this matter: there needs to be quality public transport in place so that there's no excuse for teens to be driving after drinking.
My friend Matt just pointed me towards this article and I agree strongly with both the article and the input from other commenters. In Brisbane, public transport is atrocious when traveling to certain areas, meaning people have to fork out big dollars for taxis. Quality public transport is key to attacking youth drink driving problems.
If interested, check out my site http://www.drivingschools-brisbane.com.au
Teens drinking to reduce stress? I think the problem is teenagers feel the world is on their shoulders. Surely this stress can be reduced by curing teenage bordem.
Like previous commenters I run a driving school, http://www.bookdrivinglessons.org and the area I operate in is littered with underage drinking. Policing is pro-active but I feel local residents shoulder attempt to help these kids by running more ckubs and programs.
Tim
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