NTSB Has Spoken: Legal Drinking Age of 21 Saves Lives

Sandy Grinnell

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In a press release today, the acting Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) states unequivocally that lowering the current drinking age from 21 would be a big mistake and would put the lives of teenagers at risk. The Chairman was responding to a group of university administrators who in an attempt to quell the rising number of deaths on their campuses due to binge drinking, called on parents and lawmakers to lower the drinking age to 18.

Rosenker said, "I hope lawmakers and parents will not be persuaded by unsupported arguments like 18 year olds can vote and buy homes so why should laws prohibit them from drinking? The fact is that voting and buying a home doesn't kill you or kill others. And crashes end up costing society billions of dollars in economic losses, not to mention the incalculable psychological toll."

"It is a statistical fact that this age group is overrepresented in the number of traffic accidents and fatalities because of inexperience and lack of driving skills. Combine that with easier access to alcohol the potential for death on our nation's highways is even greater. I urge those college administrators to reconsider and redouble their efforts to help enforce their State laws, which have prevented countless drunk driving fatalities."