18-20 year-old can drink in the company of parent

[Lizking]

Actually, the reasoning makes perfect sense.  Kids that age get drunk and drive, killing themselves and others at a high rate.

[mora]

You aren't supposed to drive drunk at any age. Then again why let them drive at all at that age.

Do you think it has affected drinking of young adults at any significant amount? Do you think that there are less intoxicated drivers(any substance) because of this?

Btw, there's no such trends in countries where the drinking age has been traditionally lower.

You have a lot to do with better enforcement of DUI laws. Forget the damn ABC and line walking tests and start brethalyzing people on the roads for christs sake! Oh wait a minute you can't do that, it violates peoples privacy...then at the same time you see no problems with random drug testing or Patriot Act etc..

[rpm]

Personally, I think breathalizers should be factory installed on ALL vehicles. A pre-emptive strike against DWI's. Law enforcement and government won't go for it, tho. Would cut into their cash cow.

[mora]

Originally posted by rpm
Personally, I think breathalizers should be factory installed on ALL vehicles. A pre-emptive strike against DWI's. Law enforcement and government won't go for it, tho. Would cut into their cash cow.

I can't support that, because it would be ultimately be paid by the buyer of the car. Also you could probably bypass or cheat it pretty easily.

If some people don't know how to behave it's not my responsibility.

[mosgood]

Originally posted by mora
I can't support that, because it would be ultimately be paid by the buyer of the car. Also you could probably bypass or cheat it pretty easily.

If some people don't know how to behave it's not my responsibility.

What if you got a big discount on your car insurance if you had one installed?

[Mickey1992]

Originally posted by Lizking
Actually, the reasoning makes perfect sense.  Kids that age get drunk and drive, killing themselves and others at a high rate.

Define "kids".

[Lizking]

18-21 year olds.

[mora]

Originally posted by mosgood
What if you got a big discount on your car insurance if you had one installed?

Yes of course, if it wouldn't be mandatory. I think the effect could be quite significant over there. In here you wouldn't be getting any discounts, the insurance monopoly would make sure of that.

[mora]

Originally posted by Lizking
Actually, the reasoning makes perfect sense.  Kids that age get drunk and drive, killing themselves and others at a high rate.

This goes into the same category as: "Let's sue Smith&Wesson because someone was killed by their gun."

[Lizking]

No, Mora, actually it is pretty well documented fact.

[mora]

Seriously, I don't really doubt that 16-21 drinking and driving isn't a huge problem.

But, I really can't see how this law helps the situation at all. I doubt that teens in the US use any less alcohol because of this, and the law creates massive problems at the same time, including:

While it might marginally decrease the alcohol consumed, it is more than replaced by illegal drugs.
Lack of respect to authority.
Higher rate on alcohol related violence, because alcohol is consumed in places without any control.
Higher rate of alcohol related accident's and health problems.(for the same reason as above)
Crime related to obtaining of alcohol.

Then there's the ethical guestions and the fact that it's needless goverment intervention, America is supposed to be a model for freedom, right?

[JB73]

Originally posted by Lizking
18-21 year olds.

are kids?


ok then they can not vote, can not serve in the military, can not be held accountable for crimes as adults, can not pay taxes, and not marry without parental consent... the list goes on.

that's BS, and the age 21 is just lame.

[Siaf__csf]

A friend of mine who lives in US told that the underage kids used to collect together outside the town, light a fire in the forest and drink illegal booze. Everyone naturally came with their vehicles and .. well, drove away after boozing.

What if they could just drink IN the town instead of driving 20km out?

The same friend busted his kneecap driving intoxicated with his scooter. Crashed to a parked car and suffered heavy insurance penalties along with the lifetime damage to the knee.

[mora]

Originally posted by Siaf__csf
What if they could just drink IN the town instead of driving 20km out?

Out of sight, out of mind.

[Glas]

Originally posted by mosgood
I know the point you're making.

Teach kids how to drink responsibly so they don't go crazy with it when it's available to them.

Cocain and pot will be available to them too.....  not legal but available.......  oh ya.... sex too.

You can educate someone about something without letting them have it.


btw.... I'm on the fence with this... just throwing out the agrument....  

Cocaine and pot are available, but are illegal.  If you need to use a stick to beat it in to their heads, then that should be enough.

With alcohol however, kids see it freely drunk among adults.  The temptation for them to try increases with exposure.

Europeans (not the UK) tend to give their children glasses of wine or beer with meals.  They have nowhere near the same problems that we have in the UK with teen drunkenness and the violence associated with it.

The area I live in Scotland is called Lanarkshire, which consists of many small and large towns.  In most of these towns, the favourite drink among teens is a cheap tonic wine called Buckfast.  The wine, believe it or not, is made by a load of monks in an Abbey somewhere in Devon (Buckfast Abbey strangely enough).

All they have to simply do is stop selling it here.  Sure the kids will get something else to drink, but it will certainly be more expensive and less potent.

Its a sad day when even our main religions are driven by market forces, especially when it concerns something like alcohol and the health of thousands of young kids