Fell, James C. An Examination of the Criticisms of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Laws in the United States from a Traffic-safety Perspective. Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008. Oct. 2008. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
James Fell explains his argument of keeping/lowering/raising the drinking age in the US from a traffic safety state of mind. First he introduces his argument by stating that the law for a drinking age (21) was passed in 1933. He then briefly explains the statistics of DWIs and other fatal car accidents due to drunk driving in the 1970's and 80's when the US drinking age was lowered to 18 or 19 depending on certain states. After stating a few common arguments of how the drinking age should be lowered and his response to them, he goes into detail with statistics that support the fact that the drinking age of 21 saves more lives each year than when it was lower.
Though 21 year olds might be more responsible drinkers than younger adults, that doesn't stop them from drinking or driving. There are still adult people who drive drunk and receive DWIs or, worse, take their lives or someone else's in car accidents. What is the effectiveness of the age of 21? Would the statistics of drunken car accidents be lower if the drinking age was higher? Or would young adults and adults younger than, lets say 25 if the drinking age were raised, break he law like most do so now anyway?
This source responds well to what Janet Williams in my previous source had argued about how young adult's brains are still developing. Alcohol hinders the brain from developing properly and since 18-20 year olds are still maturing, they tend to make immature choices such as driving while intoxicated. However, if the brain doesn't fully mature until the age of 25, then maybe the age of Americans to legally drink should be minimum of 25 years. On the contrary, if National Traffic Safety Laws incorporated the limitations that Christopher and Dobkin mentioned in their article on young adults who drink, then maybe drunken driving of kids 18-20 years old would be just as low as the statistic of drunken driving of 21 year olds.
So, is it effective to lower or raise the drinking age? Or would it be just as effective to keep it the same. I really think that if the government lowered the drinking age but put extra laws that would prevent unsafe roads would be effective. Young adults already try to beat around the law with their alcohol choices, anyway. Why not make it a safer and legal environment for them to do so? My research from here will consist of finding other articles that promote alternatives for young adults 18-20 to legally drink. These options could work with a healthy brain like Williams' argues and safer roads like Fell argues all while giving a younger population a little more freedom.
J
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