Study: Teens more likely to drive drunk if they see others do so
Teenagers who ride in cars with drunk drivers are far more likely to drive drunk themselves, according to the results of a recent survey. Furthermore, riding with drunk drivers from a young age or doing so repeatedly over time appears to drive that risk far higher still.
The study was conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and was based on data collected from approximately 2,500 U.S. teenagers in grades 10 through 12. The teen drivers were surveyed once each year for a period of three years and asked about their own intoxicated driving habits as well as their experiences riding with drivers who were impaired by drugs or alcohol. The results of the study were published Pediatrics, a medical journal.
About one-third of 10th graders surveyed by the NICHHD researchers said they had ridden in a car with an impaired driver during the past year. Compared with teens who never rode in a vehicle driven by an impaired driver, those who reported doing so during just one of the three survey periods were about 10 times more likely to say they had driven under the influence of alcohol or drugs by the end of the study. Meanwhile, those who rode with drunk or drugged drivers in two of the three years of the study were 34 times more likely - and those who did so in all three years were an astonishing 127 times more likely, the researchers found.
California drunk driving statistics
According to data cited by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, there were a total of 802 drunk driving deaths in California during 2012, or about 28 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state that year. This shows an increase in drunk driving deaths from the year before, both in sheer number and as a portion of all traffic fatalities. In 2011, a total of 774 died in drunk driving accidents in California, making up 27 percent of traffic deaths that year.
During both 2012 and 2011, California came in slightly below the national average for traffic deaths caused by drunk driving, which was 31 percent and 30 percent respectively for those years.
People who are hurt by drunk drivers in California are frequently able to obtain financial compensation to offset their lost wages, medical expenses and other monetary losses resulting from the crash. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a drunk driving crash in California, contact a personal injury law firm in your area to learn about your options for seeking compensation through the legal system.
