MADD Canada | Research Library

High school students who drank before the age of 13 years were highest for African Americans at 35.2 percent, followed by Hispanics at 35.1 percent. The lowest percentage was for Caucasian Americans at 29.9 percent. (CDC, 1999)

In a recent survey, 14.6 percent of Caucasian high school students drive after drinking alcohol, compared to 12.7 percent for Hispanic and 7.9 percent for African Americans. (CDC, 1999)

In a recent survey, Hispanic students (39.5 percent) were significantly more likely than Caucasian students (32.4 percent) to have ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol. (CDC, 1999)

Parents' drinking behavior and favorable attitudes about drinking have been positively associated with adolescents' initiating and continuing drinking. (NIAAA, 1997)

Youth who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. (NIAAA, 1997)

An early age of drinking onset is associated with alcohol-related violence not only among persons under age 21 but among adults as well. (Hingson et al, October 2001)

Research continues to show that young drivers are more often involved in alcohol-related crashes than any other comparable age group. Alcohol-crash involvement rates, share of the alcohol-crash problem and alcohol-crash risk all reach their peaks with young drivers, with the peaks for fatal crashes occurring at age 21. (NHTSA, 2001)

The highest prevalence of both binge and heavy drinking in 2000 was for young adults aged 18 to 25, with the peak rate occurring at age 21. (SAMHSA, 2000)

Sixty-nine percent of young drivers (15-20 years old) of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes who had been drinking were unrestrained. Of the young drivers who had been drinking and were killed, 80 percent were unrestrained. (NHTSA, 2000)

One in ten Americans aged 12 and older in 2000 (22.3 million persons) drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to an interview for a nationwide survey. (SAMHSA, 2000)

Each year, college students spend approximately $5.5 billion on alcohol- more than they spend on soft drinks, milk, juice, tea, coffee and books combined. (Drug Strategies, 1999)

Teenagers are not well informed about alcohol's effects. Nearly one-third of the teens responding to a 1998 American Academy of Pediatrics survey mistakenly believed that a 12-ounce can of beer contains less alcohol than a standard shot of distilled sprits. (Drug Strategies, 1999)

Approximately one-fifth (20.6 percent) of persons aged 12 years and older (46 million people) participated in binge drinking at least once in 30 days prior to an alcohol use survey in 2000. This represents approximately 4 percent of all current drinkers. (SAMHSA, 2000)

About 9.7 million persons aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to a nationwide survey in 2000. Of these, 6.6 million were binge drinkers and 2.1 million were heavy drinkers. (SAMHSA, 2000)

Thirty percent of 15-20 year old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes during 2000 had been drinking. Twenty-one percent were intoxicated. (NHTSA, 2000)

In 2001, approximately 2 in 5 (44.4 percent) of college students reported binge drinking, according to a college survey. This percentage is almost identical to rates in 3 previous surveys. (Weschsler et al, 2002)

Fifty-four percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 2000 occurred on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. (IIHS, 2000)

The median age at which children begin drinking is 13. Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. (CADCA, 1996)

Students who attended schools with high rates of heavy drinking experienced a greater number of secondhand effects, including disruption of sleep or studies; property damage; and verbal, physical, or sexual violence. (Weschsler et al, 2002)

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage among young people. (Grossman et al, 1994)

Binge drinking has been defined as at least five drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women. (Weschsler et al, 2002)

A College Alcohol Survey of four colleges indicated that binge-drinking levels are associated with ease of access to alcohol, price, special promotions, and outlet density in college communities. (Weschsler et al, 2002)

For ages 13-19, 53 percent of the deaths were drivers, 47 percent were passengers. Based only on the driving age population 16-19, 60 percent were drivers, 40 percent were passengers. At ages 13-15, more young people were killed as passengers than as drivers. (IIHS, December 2001)

High school binge drinking is a major predictor of binge drinking in college. (Weschsler et al, 2002)

The intoxication rate for 16 to 20 year old drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2000 was 15 percent. (NHTSA, 2000)

Based on the latest mortality data available (1998), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people from 15 to 20 years old. (NHTSA, 2000)

Findings from four studies have quantified the crash risk associated with teenage drivers transporting teenage passengers. Collectively, these studies indicate that the presence of passengers strongly increases crash risk for teenage drivers; the more passengers the greater the risk. (Williams, December 2001)

The total cost attributable to the consequences of underage drinking was more than $58 billion per year in 1998 dollars. (Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 1999)

More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. (Grant, B.F et al, 1997)

Twenty-six percent of young male drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2000 had been drinking at the time of the crash, compared with 13 percent of the young female drivers involved in fatal crashes. (NHTSA, 2000)