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SANDAG newsletter
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on key projects & services
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SANDAG 2008 year in review rule
Monitoring report tracks region's progress rule
Underage drinking and driving:
A local and national concern
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New bicycle commuter
benefit available rule
SANDAG invites nominations
for 2009 Diamond Awards
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 Actions from the December Board of Directors meeting
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   the rEgion
 

Underage drinking and driving: SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division
A local and national concern

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2000, alcohol-related auto crashes in the United States cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion, including $51.1 billion in monetary costs and an estimated $63.2 billion in quality of life losses. While drunk driving among any age group remains a concern for communities across the country, this behavior among youth (under 21) is of special concern because traffic fatalities are the number one cause of death for teens.

The NHTSA cites 21-year-old minimum drinking age laws as a key factor in bringing down the nation’s rate of death for this age group, with 826 lives saved in 2007. However, despite these laws, alcohol remains the most commonly used substance by America’s teens (according to national household surveys), and the vast majority of underage drinkers obtain alcohol from non-commercial sources and drink it in their home or someone else’s home.

Locally, underage drinking is on the radar of both program and policy leaders as an issue of concern.

Specifically, San Diego County statistics summarized in the San Diego County Report Card on Children and Families 2007 (authored by The Children’s Initiative and available at www.sdcountyreportcard.org), reveal that:

  • the number of DUI arrests for youth under 18 has not decreased significantly since 2005;
  • the rate of fatal and non-fatal crashes involving drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 who were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs per 100,000 population was higher in San Diego County (105 per capita) in 2005 compared to the State of California (84 per capita); and
  • in 2005, San Diego County had the second highest number of alcohol-related collisions involving young drivers in the state, second only to Los Angeles County.

In addition, data from the SANDAG Substance Abuse Monitoring (SAM) program reveal that in 2007, 40 percent of juveniles booked into Juvenile Hall (and interviewed) reported that during the past year they had ridden in a car with a driver who had been drinking or who had used drugs, and 15 percent reported driving a car themselves while under the influence (data available at www.sandag.org).

Project Manager

Sandy Keaton, Division Director, Senior Research Analyst
Phone: (619) 699-6933, E-mail: ske@sandag.org