Life as a teenager is difficult. It is not only a time of transition and changes, but it is also a period of discovering yourself. Unfortunately, the media does not help our teenagers today with making smart choices, in fact they state the very thing that is contrary to reason. The media tells our young kids, our teenagers, and even adults that the way to success and popularity is to do what everyone else is doing, and this often includes partying. While adults make their own decisions to get drunk and act irresponsible, often times teenagers will do so just to be liked among their peers. They will get wasted so that they are willing to do what their conscience tells them is wrong in order to stay friends with the cool kids.

What many teenagers fail to realize is that teen drinking is dangerous, and teenage drunk driving can be even more disastrous; even fatal. According to statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) car crashes are the number one killer in America for teenagers, with an average of 7 teens per day losing their life. Their studies also show that out of those daily fatalities, 22% of them are a result of drunk driving accidents. A national survey that was conducted in 2011 showed that not enough teens are taking the dangers of drinking and driving seriously enough. 24% of the surveyed teens said that knowingly drove in a car with a driver who was under the influence of alcohol. Another 8% of these same students reported that they themselves had at some point driven under the influence.

CDC studies also show that teenagers are also the least likely to buckle up their seatbelts when getting into a motor vehicle, making the dangers of drunk driving accidents and injuries greatly increase. Knowing this is frightening because of the likelihood that teenagers also chose to drive much faster than the legal speed limit, and when it is primarily males in the vehicle there is a greater chance of there being unsafe behavior. While drunk driving in of itself is illegal and extremely dangerous, the risks greatly increase when it is a teenager getting behind the wheel intoxicated.

Why is this you may ask? Apart from the obvious that teen drinking, in any amount is entirely illegal, it is also for a number of reasons. Teenagers are still considered to be inexperienced. Whether they just received their license or they are in their second year; they are still learning the ways of the road and must pay much closer attention to their surroundings. With any hint of alcohol in the system, this will impair the teen from being able to do just that, not to mention the added distractions of blasting music and laughing friends, the teen will be less likely to be aware of their surroundings.

The U.S. government has been actively taking measures to protect teenagers from making the mistake of getting behind the wheel intoxicated, though unfortunately many of them do not fear the law, not its consequences. In 1984, Ronald Reagan decided steps needed to be taken and it was then that the legal drinking age increased to 21 years old. After that, there has been more legislation passed, curfew were created for minors, there are sobriety checkpoints throughout the cities as well as drunk driving education in schools. Unfortunately the numbers don't lie, and every day teenagers are dying as a result of drunk driving accidents. If you or someone you know was injured or killed in a drunk driving accident caused by another person, teenager or adult, contact a car accident attorney as soon as possible to pursue legal action.