For Young Drivers, Drinking Is More Dangerous

The National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states lower the current blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. Fatal accidents involving drivers who have been drinking — even those with low blood-alcohol levels — vary sharply depending on a driver’s age and the time of day.

Show accidents by

NUMBER OF DRIVERS
INVOLVED IN FATAL CRASHES

Blood-Alcohol:

Legal levels

Even a small amount of alcohol can disrupt a driver’s ability to concentrate or do two things at once.

Levels in proposal

Several drinks can impede memory, attention and reasoning.

Illegal levels

Many drinks consumed quickly can lead to memory gaps, when drinkers cannot recall some or all events.

Many states have a zero limit for drivers under 21.

Age 16 to 26

Younger drivers have many fatal accidents at low blood-alcohol levels.

Age 27 to 40

These drivers have fewer fatal accidents at the levels the new proposal would outlaw.

Age 41 to 60

Drivers over the age of 40 get into fewer alcohol-related fatal crashes.

In all fatal accidents involving alcohol, 48% of drivers had a blood-alcohol level higher than 0.16 percent.

Young drivers are more likely to have accidents than older ones. But a visual analysis of national data on drunken driving puts the disparity into stark relief — and suggests whose lives might be saved by proposed legislation to lower the legal blood alcohol limit.
The recommendation, by the National Transportation Safety Board, asks the 50 states and the District of Columbia to lower the current limit of 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent, the standard in most industrialized countries.
Drivers younger than 26 cause the most auto fatalities in the United States, regardless of alcohol consumption. But 21 percent of young drivers involved in a fatal accident have some alcohol in their system — higher than other age groups. Researchers have shown that even a small amount of alcohol can disrupt a person’s ability to concentrate or do two things at once. For less experienced drivers, one or two drinks can cause the loss of reasoning and reaction time that results in a fatal crash.
“Young drivers have a far greater risk differential in the 0.08 to 0.05 range,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, the board’s chairwoman. “Lowering the legal limit can make people more thoughtful about having the second, third or fourth drink — because every drink raises a driver’s crash risk level exponentially.”
More than 6,600 impaired drivers are involved in fatal accidents every year, causing the deaths of about 10,000 people. About half of those accidents are caused by drivers who have blood alcohol levels at or below 0.16 percent.
The chart here reveals that the red “hot spots” start with young drivers at even the lowest blood alcohol levels, and decline as drivers get older. If the proposed legislation is adopted by the states, young drivers and their passengers may be the biggest winners.