Issues Concerning Adolescent Drinking and Driving

Drinking and driving is an illegal act of negligence; therefore, it is not a smart thing to do. Although driving while intoxicated is a problem of all age groups, it is especially severe for adolescents. This is not because they do not care, but that they often do not understand the serious effects of alcohol. It is a proven fact that driving under the influence of alcohol can affect people’s reflexes. Therefore, no one should drink and drive because it can cause accidents, debilitating injuries, and/or death.

According to statistics, adolescents are involved in one out of four injury accidents. Adolescents go through a “personal fable” stage. They are sorry when they hear of people dying, or getting hurt while drinking and driving, but they feel nothing could happen to them. Adolescents often start the day out feeling bored, and this leads to a drinking “road trip.” This is where several teens with no particular destination in mind, hop into a car, and many times they end up at the local liquor store where they buy alcohol with fake ID’s. They drive to a secluded place outside of town and consume the alcohol as quickly as they can. However, this is not enough for them, and they start looking for other sources for obtaining liquor. Late into the evening, they are ready to head home, unfortunately, because they are immature, they did not think to get a designated driver. This results in a teen that is extremely intoxicated behind the wheel, and this could cause an accident that could badly injure the people involved.

Sometimes appendages are injured due to a fracture, or a more severe injury could result in amputation. Getting burned is also an injury that could occur in a car accident. Burns range in severity from first degree to third degree, with third-degree burns causing the most damage. In addition, burns could cause loss of vision, or hearing.