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Teen Drunk Driving Numbers Falling

Colorado Public Radio

Colorado Public Radio gave us a bit of good news this week. Decades of public service announcements and school documentaries about drunk driving appear to be working. There are far fewer young people drinking and driving than there were a decade ago. 2002, there has been almost a 40 percent drop in the number of young adults of legal drinking age who drive under the influence of alcohol. The drop was even more dramatic among teenagers. Only 7 percent of people between the ages of 16 and 20 say they drank and drove last year.

Experts think the drop is due to a combination of factors. These include sobriety checkpoints and the effects of educational campaigns.

The battle isn’t over, however. There are still a lot of young people who drink and drive. The information comes from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey published this month.