First, drinking alcohol at a young age can cause the brain to not fully develop properly. People consume alcohol for many different reasons: celebration, depression, anxiety, boredom, and peer pressure. This group of …show more content…
Approximately 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year because of alcohol related accidents; of those 5,000 kids 1,700 of them are college students. 1,600 of those killed annually are from alcohol related homicides, and 300 suicides. In the United States, the number of drunk driving deaths has been cut in half since the age limit to drink alcohol turned 21. 54 percent of teenagers in high school that drink and drive have decreased by more than half since 1991. Yet, high school teens drive after drinking about 2.4 million times a month.
Lowering the drinking age to 18 would cause even more drunk driving. People age 16 to 20 are 17 times more likely to die in a vehicle crash when they have a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent than when they have not been drinking alcohol. Keeping 21 the minimum legal drinking age has prevented teen drinking and