Drunk driving is dangerous, but when teens drive while intoxicated it can be even more lethal. According to statistics from First Eagle, 70 percent of all teenagers drink alcohol. Many of those teens get out on the road after a night of partying and drinking with friends and decide to drive themselves home. As a result, 60 percent of all teen car accidents involve an intoxicated driver. In a single year, 522 teens were arrested for driving drunk under the age of 14. These teens are not even permitted to drive a car, much less drive a car while under the influence of alcohol. A report states that 113 of the teens that were arrested under 14 were also under the age of 10. Teen alcohol use kills about 6,000 people every year according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

For teens, peer pressure is the main motivator to drink and drive. Teenagers are impressionable, and when one teen starts driving while intoxicated, others may choose to join in. As well, most parents do not approve of teenage drinking, so these adolescents will drive themselves home in hopes that their parents won’t know that they were drinking alcohol at all. The risk in this decision is that the parents will found out when the get a phone call from a police officer. At school, teens are often warned of the dangers of drunk driving. It is a common fact that every 22 minutes someone dies in an alcohol-related motor vehicle accident.

Thankfully, the amount of teens driving intoxicated is dropping. CBS News reports that teen drinking has dropped by 54 percent over the last 20 years thanks to two main factors. The first may seem obvious, teen drunk driving has dropped because of stricter laws. Because America has a zero-tolerance police for teen drunk drivers, they often want to stay off of the roads and out of jail. A police officer can arrest a teen for a 0.01 percent BAC, so even a few sips of beer can create a serious legal problem. Teens want to avoid the hassle and their parent’s disappointment, so they will often avoid making this choice.

States have become stricter on selling alcohol to minors, which has helped to curb the amount of drinking teens out on the road. According to a CBS report, many states have also adopted laws which give teens a restricted license until they turn 21. In these states, an underage drinker may have his or her license removed as punishment until he or she turns 21. Stripping a teen of his or her freedom to drive is a big deal, and many of these junior high and high school students are willing to follow the law in order to preserve their driving freedom.

The other factor in dropping teen DUI rates is a less obvious one: gas prices. When gas is more expensive, teens tend to limit the amount of mileage they put on their cars. High gas prices mean less spending money, Starbucks, and movie tickets and some teens aren’t willing to make the sacrifice. The CDC’s new report claims that the number of youth over 16 that drank and drove has gone down from 22.3 percent to 10.3 percent. 83 percent of all teens who drink and drive admit that they binge drink, which means that they consumed alcohol in large amounts. Normally, binge drinking is measured at over five alcoholic drinks consumed in one sitting. If you are a teen who has been charged with a DUI, then you will want a DUI lawyer on your side. Find an attorney who handles underage DUIs in your area using this directory and start your quest for justice in your case!