Since the National Minimal Drinking Age Act (NMDAA) of 1984 was enacted, the percentage of alcohol related vehicle fatalities in the United States (US) has dramatically decreased from 56 percent in 1984 to 31 percent in 2010 (AlcoholAlert).  This statistic clearly shows that efforts to limit alcohol related deaths and improve alcohol education over the last 37 years have worked well.  With an ever-increasing population, it is crucial that the US continues to put forth efforts to lower these statistics and save as many lives as possible.  Alcohol related deaths have become less frequent per capita in the US because of the NMDAA of 1984 and improved alcohol education throughout the nation.

There is a plethora of data and statistics to prove that raising the minimal legal drinking age in 1984 to 21 has saved countless lives in the US.  To start, the number of road fatalities in the US decreased from 44,257 in 1984 to 32,885 in 2010.  Of the 44,257 road fatalities in 1984, 24,762 or 56 percent involved alcohol.  This is drastically high in comparison to the 2010 statistics where just 10,228 or 31 percent of the 32,885 road fatalities involved alcohol.  

In 2014, 30 percent of drivers with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.8 g/dL or higher involved in a fatal crash were between the ages of 21-24.  The next highest age bracket was 25-34 at 29 percent followed by 35-44 at 24 percent; the percentages continue to decrease as age increases.  Notice that age bracket with the highest percentage (21-24) is also the smallest in terms of the age range.  Only four years in comparison to the other age brackets which have a range on nine years.  From this data, it can be assumed that if the minimum legal drinking age were 18, the age bracket of 18-21 would account for the highest percentage of drivers with a BAC of 0.8 g/dL or higher involved in fatal crashes.  Raising the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 21 has had a major impact on protecting the youth of the nation.

Looking away from traffic accidents, there are many other reasons why keeping the minimum legal drinking age at 21 will help save lives.  For starters, alcohol is the primary cause of many health problems.  Alcohol consumption is the consistently the third leading cause of the death in the US each year and the number one cause of death for youth and young adults.  Every year, more than 4,300 people under the age of 21 die due to excessive drinking.  In 2011 alone, nearly 200,000 people under the age of 21 were admitted to hospitals for alcohol intoxication (Federal Trade Commission (FTC)).  These numbers are absolutely staggering.  Although they are in decline, they are still very high must continue to decrease.  By lowering the drinking age to 18, it would be much easier for this age bracket to use and abuse alcohol.

Alcohol has also been proven to have a large impact on mental health, behavior, and brain development.  Recent studies are showing us that on average, the human brain continues to develop well into a person’s early to mid-twenties.  If the drinking age were to be lowered to 18, the easier access to alcohol would result in higher rates of alcohol abuse for this age bracket and severely limit brain development for many.  By keeping the drinking at 21, teens and young adults will give their brains much more time to develop before they begin using alcohol.  This effect on brain development can be seen in teen’s test scores from around the nation.  A 2007 study conducted by the Government revealed that about 67 percent or two thirds of ‘A’ students were non-drinkers while roughly 50 percent or one half of ‘D and F’ students were drinkers.  There will certainly be outliers in each direction, but this data shows that alcohol has a significant negative correlation with academics.  For the most part, the more alcohol a student is exposed to, the poorer they will do in school, and vice versa.  There are also economic effects of underaged drinking. In 2010, underage drinking cost the US economy $24 billion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)).  Underaged drinking is a not only a safety issue for everyone, but also a burden for the nation.

Although there is much statistical evidence to prove that the MLDAA of 1984 has saved countless lives, there are still many arguments and variables to consider for lowering the minimum legal drinking age to 18.  One thing to consider is college aged students (18-22 years-old).  Back when the minimum legal drinking age was 18, the majority of college campuses around the nation had one or more bars actually located on the school’s campus.  By having one or more bars on campus, students did not have to drive or go long distances in order to obtain alcohol.  It was right there on campus for them.  When the minimum legal drinking age was raised to 21, bars were removed from campuses.  This meant that in order to get alcohol, students were now forced to walk or drive.  One possible solution would be to have certain exceptions for alcohol on college campuses, possibly even having schools provide minimal amounts of alcohol for students to discourage them from leaving campus to get alcohol and killing themselves or someone else on the drive back.  Although this concept may seem like a good idea, there are way too many variables and logistics to make it work successfully.  On such a large scale it would be near impossible to make this work well.  It would be very difficult to accurately determine responsibility if an injury or fatality were to occur because of a student that was intoxicated from alcohol supplied by a school.

Possibly the biggest thing to look at when considering lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 is the percentage of road fatalities involving alcohol compared to legal drinking age.  Data tends to show that countries with lower drinking ages have a lower percentage of road fatalities that involve alcohol.  According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, 31% of fatal road accidents in the US involved alcohol.  This number is very high in comparison to a number of developed countries with a minimum legal drinking age less than 21.  For example, the same statistic is 16 percent, nine percent, and five percent for Great Britain, Russia, and Mexico respectively.  From this data we can see that several developed countries with lower drinking ages also have lower percentages of road fatalities involving alcohol.

These numbers make it seem that a lower drinking age would make more sense, however, there are many variables to consider.  In many of these countries, bars and other locations where alcoholic beverages are served are in walking distance of most people.  Because most people going to bars are not driving, the chance of a traffic fatality involving alcohol is almost entirely eliminated.  However, in the US, most bars and locations that serve alcohol are not within walking distance of most people, so they must drive to get alcohol.  This one difference is a major reason as to why the US has such a high percentage of fatal road accidents involving alcohol even though the minimum legal drinking age in the US is higher than most countries.

There are many arguments and variables to consider for this debate, but the data and statistics are difficult to refute; the enactment of the NMDAA in 1984, as well as improved alcohol education throughout the nation have dramatically decreased the number of alcohol related fatalities in the US.  Over the past four decades, the percentage of road fatalities in the US has decreased over 20 percent.  These numbers are sound evidence that the NMDAA and other such legislation are successfully working to limit the number of alcohol related fatalities in the US.  Although road fatalities are the primary issue, there are many other physical and mental health problems that can arise from drinking alcohol earlier on in life and not being responsible with it.  Considering the negative effects of alcohol on the brain and the fact that the average human brain does not fully develop until a person’s mid-twenties, it only makes sense to not lower the minimum legal drinking age.  However, it is still important to consider the arguments for lowering the minimum legal drinking age to 18.  Data shows that many developed countries with lower minimum legal drinking ages also have lower percentages of alcohol related road fatalities.  This data is accurate and credible but easily refutable when considering variables such as distance to bars, alcohol education, and societal views towards minors drinking alcohol.  When all is considered, the data and statistics validate that the NMDAA of 1984, which raised the minimum legal drinking age in the US from 18 to 21, as well as higher quality alcohol education, has decreased the number of alcohol related deaths in the US.
