Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- A new study shows a 54 percent decrease in teen drinking since 1991, but nearly one-million high school teens are still drinking and driving each year.
The
Vital Signs study released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from the 1991-2011 national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS), which asked high school students if they had ever driven after drinking alcohol in the past 30 days prior to the survey.
Researchers focused their study on students aged 16 and older.
The study found that teens engaged in the dangerous behavior more than once a month.
It also found that high school boys – 18 and older – were more likely to drink and drive, while 16-year-old high school girls were least likely to get behind the wheel of a car after they had been drinking.
And, 85 percent of teens who reported drinking and driving also reported binge drinking, according to the study.
According to the CDC, efforts such as laws making it illegal to sell alcohol to those under age 21 and the graduated driver licensing systems have helped reduce teen drinking and driving.
However, the CDC says parents play a key role in keeping their kids safe on the road. Modeling safe driving behavior and using tools such as
parent-teen driving agreements help keep kids safe.
Additional information can be found at the links below:
CDC's Injury Center CDC’s Parents Are the Key campaign
