This study assessed whether persons who begin drinking at younger ages are more likely to report drunk driving and alcohol-related crash involvement over the life course, even after controlling analytically for diagnosis of alcohol dependence and other personal characteristics associated with the age respondents started drinking. A national survey conducted for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 1992, asked 42,862 respondents the age they started drinking, whether they drove after drinking too much, and whether they were in motor vehicle crash(s) because of their drinking. The current study found that, the earlier the age respondents started drinking, the more likely they were to report driving after drinking too much and being in a motor vehicle crash because of their drinking, even after adjusting for current/ever diagnosis of alcohol dependence and other characteristics and behaviors associated with the age respondents started drinking. Even among persons who were never alcohol dependent, those who began drinking in each age group under 21, relative to those starting at age 21 or older, were more likely to report "ever" and "in the past year" being in a crash after drinking too much. The traffic safety benefits of delaying drinking may extend well beyond the legal drinking age of 21. (A) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/pub/age-of-drinking/pub…
Abstract