ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE IN ALABAMA IS REVIEWED IN LIGHT OF THE REDUCTION IN THE LEGAL DRINKING AGE IN 1975 FROM 21 TO 19 YEARS. AVAILABLE DATA REQUIRED AN ANALYSIS OF ALCOHOL RELATED ACCIDENTS IN THE 18 TO 20 YEAR OLD GROUP, WHICH PROVIDED A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE OF THE OVERALL CHANGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LEGISLATIVE ACTION. SEVERAL STATISTICAL TESTS WERE PERFORMED TO COMPARE THE 18-20 YEAR OLD GROUP WITH OTHER GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD FROM 1972 THROUGH 1979. THESE CONFIRM THAT (1) ALCOHOL RELATED SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENTS WITHIN THIS AGE GROUP WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THOSE OF OTHER AGE GROUPS PRIOR TO THE LEGAL AGE REDUCTION, AND (2) CURRENTLY, AFTER THE LEGAL AGE REDUCTION, THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AGE GROUPS. AN ANALYTICAL COMPARISON OF THESE RESULTS WITH OTHER RECENT RESEARCH FINDINGS IS GIVEN.(Author/publisher).
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