Auto Insurance: Teens Who Drink & Drive

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According to a recent CDCVital Signsstudy, drinking and driving among teens in high school (aged 16 or older) has gone down by 54% since 1991

. Still, high school teens drove after drinking about 2.4 million times a month as recently as last year, causing increased premiums in their parents auto insurance.

While fewer teens are drinking and driving, this risky behavior is still a major threat to communities across the nation. Eighty-five percent of teens in high school who reported drinking and driving in past months also say they binge drank. Binge drinking is defined as having 5 or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours.

About one in 5 teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had some alcohol in their system in 2010. Eighty-one percent of these drivers had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) higher than the legal limit for adults. It is illegal for adults to drive with a BAC of .08% or higher. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to drive after drinking any alcohol in all US states.

Steps for Safety
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More can be done to protect the lives of young drivers and everyone who shares the road with them. States and communities can increase awareness among teens and parents, strengthen enforcement of existing policies, such as minimum legal drinking age and zero tolerance laws, and graduated driver licensing systems.

Pediatricians and other health professionals can screen teens for risky behaviors, including:

Using alcohol, drugs or other substances

Driving after alcohol or drug use

Riding with a driver who has been using alcohol or drugs

Educate parents and teens about the risks of drinking and driving

Encourage parents of new teen drivers to set and enforce the "rules of the road" and consider tools like parent-teen driving agreements.

Remind parents to lead by example as safe drivers

Parents can understand that most teens who drink do it to get drunk, and should recognize the dangers of teen drinking and driving and that teen drivers are at much greater risk of crashing after drinking alcohol than adult drivers.

They should also provide teens with a safe way to get home (such as picking them up or paying for a cab) if their driver has been drinking.

Model safe driving behavior

Consider tools like parent-teen driving agreements to set and enforce the "rules of the road" for new drivers. Safe driving habits for teens include the following:

1.Never drink and drive

2.Follow state Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws

3.Wear a seat belt on every trip

4.Limit nighttime driving

5.Set a limit on the number of teen passengers

6.Never use a cell phone or text while driving

7.Obey speed limits

Teens can choose to never drink and drive, refuse to ride in a car with a teen driver who has been drinking, as well as know and follow their state's GDL laws.

by: MariaT.Barber

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