The following facts may catch you off guard..
- In the United States, underage teen drinking is widespread. Approximately 12.5 million underage teens drink each year.
- Drinking and driving was a factor in 190 fatal car accidents in North Carolina. Historically, drunk driving and alcohol are factors in about 30% of all fatal traffic accidents.
- The leading cause of death for those ages 15-20 is a car accident.
- According to the CDC 4,767 teenagers died from fatal car crash injuries in 2004.
- According to the National Traffic Safety Administration and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 31% of all 15 to 20 year olds had been drinking when killed in a car accident, and 25% of them were alcohol impaired.
- Teenage drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle collision than their older more experienced driving counterparts, notes the CDC.
- Teen drivers are responsible for twelve percent of all road-related fatalities.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports twenty-three percent of teenage drivers in fatal car crashes possessed a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) level above the legal limit of .08 on the breathalyzer test.
- According to a 2002 CDC report that, the econosmic cost of automobile accidents involving teenagers is a staggering forty billion dollars or more annually.
- 70 percent of all teenagers drink alcohol.
- 60 percent of all teen deaths in car accidents are alcohol-related.
- In the United States, 12.8% of all fatal traffic crashes were alcohol-related, and 40% of that number involved teens driving while drinking alcohol.
- Statistics show one out of every ten teens between the ages of 12 and 13 drink alcohol at least once a month.