With approximately 13 million licensed teenage drivers in the U.S., it's disturbing that more than one in 10 (12 percent) report driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs on New Year's Eve. According to a new survey from Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), New Year's Eve is the most common night of the year for teens to get behind the wheel after drinking or using other drugs.
What's more, teens already know this is a hazardous time to be on the road: of the more than 1,700 teens surveyed, 49 percent consider driving on New Year's as very or extremely dangerous. And parents may not be helping to curb this behavior, as findings suggest parental consent to teenage drinking is also on the rise.
“There are approximately 3,000 teenage driving-related deaths a year, a third of which involve alcohol,” says Dave Melton, a driving safety expert with Liberty Mutual Insurance and managing director of global safety. “Parents have to play an active role in preventing underage drinking. Talk to your kids before New Year's celebrating begins and make sure they understand the importance of making smart, and possibly life-saving, decisions.”
According to 2012 survey findings, parents have become more accepting of alcohol usage by their teenage children compared to 2010 and 2011 data. Despite more than 150 cities or counties and 24 states adopting laws which hold social hosts liable for serving alcohol to minors, nearly half (47 percent) of teens are allowed by their parents to go to parties where alcohol is served and 15 percent say they are allowed to host parties with alcohol. Additionally, 37 percent say they are allowed to drink when their parents are present and 29 percent report that they are allowed to drink unsupervised.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].