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Getting Smart? Fatal Crashes From Drinking Decrease in Under 21 Year Olds

ATLANTA, Dec 5, 2002; Reuters reported that alcohol-related crashes in the United States resulting in death fell significantly in the last 20 years, with the largest decreases involving drivers less than 21 years old, federal health officials said on Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fatal crashes in which drivers had blood alcohol levels of 0.01 or greater fell 46 percent among all ages from 1982 to 2001. The agency credited stricter drunken driving laws and driver licensing programs, among other factors.

The agency said fatal drinking-related crash rates fell 60 percent among drivers 16 to 17 years old, the biggest decrease for all age groups. Crash rates fell 55 percent for drivers 18 to 20, and 41 percent for motorists 21 to 24. Among drivers 25 and over, the crash rates fell 39 percent.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death among people 16 to 24 years old, and a substantial number involve alcohol, the CDC said. There were 17,448 U.S. alcohol-related deaths in 2001, down from 26,173 in 1982, the agency said.

"These are particularly tragic deaths because they are completely preventable," said Randy Elder, a research fellow at the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

The CDC said the 1984 Uniform Drinking Age Act, which required states to set the minimum legal drinking age at 21 by 1988, had helped to reduce drunken driving. It also cited "zero-tolerance" blood alcohol standards for drivers under the legal drinking age and community education as factors contributing to the lower rates of fatal crashes.