Teen Drinking & Driving

By Makenna Petress

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every 39 minutes someone is killed due to drunk driving. To make matters worse, teenagers are 17 times more likely to die from drunk driving. Although the percentage of teenage drunk driving has gone down 54% since 1991 according to the CDC, it is still an ongoing issue. The CDC says that things that could be done are “increase awareness among teens and parents”. Everyone is aware it’s an issue but no one is acting on it. That raises the issue that there isn't much we can do to stop teen drinking and driving besides not doing it.  Not only could the person who is drunk driving be killed, but they also endanger others. In 2017 there were approximately 1,848 teens killed due to drunk driving. Could you imagine being one of those parents or even a friend to someone who had been killed due to drunk driving? 60% of teen car accidents involve alcohol. That says a lot. So next time you think about picking up a drink and then those keys think about the phone call your loved ones might get.