Considerable progress has been made in recent years to reduce impaired driving crashes among young drivers. In the United States, much of this progress has been associated with reducing access to alcohol by young people. This paper discusses some of the basic components that have contributed to this reduction in access: (1) Reduced alcohol availability to youth in the form of a uniform minimum purchase age of 21 and improvements in enforcement of minimum purchase age laws; (2) Changes in alcohol availability in general, in the form of price increases and controls on outlet location and conditions of sale; and (3) Expressions of norms against youthful drinking, including such things as controls on marketing and community sponsorship of alcohol-free events.
Abstract