Teen Alcohol Use Remains a Danger: Parents Ignorant to Teen Drinking Realities
It’s prom and graduation season here in Texas, which means a lot of teenagers will be celebrating their freedom. Some will just go to dinner, dance and go home, or hang out at a diner with friends. Unfortunately, many of them will celebrate by drinking alcohol, and they will make bad decisions as a result.
For many years, many parents have believed that it was okay for their teens to drink, as long as they don’t get behind the wheel of a car and put themselves and others in danger on the roads. Unfortunately, a new report recently released by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) demonstrates that there is a lot more than drunk driving for parents and others to worry about when it comes to teen alcohol use.
Based on the data analysis supplied by MADD, of the 3,587 alcohol-related deaths involving those ages 15-20, while road deaths are still the largest single cause, more than two-thirds, or 68%, of all such deaths are not road-related, but due to other factors.
The data were compiled from 2010 statistics published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the FBI and the CDC. While road deaths accounted for 32 percent of alcohol-related fatalities in that age group, 30 percent come from homicides, 14 percent from suicides and nine percent from alcohol poisoning, with 15 percent from “other causes.”
While their teens are out drinking, however, Texas parents will apparently have no idea what’s going on, if MADD’s last report is any indication. According to a survey last month, 85 percent of Texas parents think their kids have no interest in alcohol, even though statistics show that nearly half of all 10th graders imbibe.
There’s a reason teenagers are prohibited from drinking alcohol. It leads too many young minds to make bad decisions. One of those bad decisions is to get behind the wheel of a car, but there are others possible. If you or someone you know has been injured by an underage drinker, protect your rights by calling the Texas Drunk Driving Accident Lawyerat Hill Law Firm today.