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Should the drinking age be 18? Should the drinking age be 18?
Yes, the drinking age should be 18. Yes, the drinking age should be 18.
No, the drinking age should be 21. No, the drinking age should be 21.
The ideal drinking age depends on the jurisdiction. The ideal drinking age depends on the jurisdiction.
There should be no drinking age. There should be no drinking age.
Adults should have the right to decide to drink Adults should have the right to decide to drink
18 is the safest minimum age for drinking 18 is the safest minimum age for drinking
A minimum age of 18 normalizes responsible drinking A minimum age of 18 normalizes responsible drinking
Drinking alcohol is medically risky Drinking alcohol is medically risky
Younger people are too immature to drink Younger people are too immature to drink
A higher drinking age reduces drunk driving A higher drinking age reduces drunk driving
Cultural and religious beliefs vary widely about drinking Cultural and religious beliefs vary widely about drinking
Historically, there were no drinking age laws Historically, there were no drinking age laws
Young people drink regardless of the drinking age Young people drink regardless of the drinking age
Underage drinking is not a priority for law enforcement Underage drinking is not a priority for law enforcement
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Should the drinking age be 18?
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No, the drinking age should be 21.

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A higher drinking age reduces drunk driving

The single biggest danger associated with drinking is drunk driving, and less drunk driving happens when the drinking age is higher.
The United States General Accounting Office William DeJong Tara Watson
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The Argument

A higher drinking age saves lives by reducing traffic accidents and fatalities resulting from drunk driving. In the United States, where the national drinking age is 21, drunk driving deaths have decreased by a third since the drinking age was raised from 18. The higher drinking age is estimated to have saved over 1,000 lives per year on average through the reduction in drunk driving alone. Teen’s brains are still developing even at the age of eighteen. When under the influence, teens have trouble making decisions. In the United States, since 1984 when states began raising the drinking age from 18 to 21, there has been a decline in drinking traffic fatalities. It was even found that 58% of fewer alcohol-related crashes occurred when there was a higher drinking age. This suggests that the disincentive of breaking the law causes teens to think twice before getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.[1] Allowing people to mature for a few more years before being allowed to drink is greatly impactful on the number of people that could have been harmed or killed by drinking and driving accidents.

Counter arguments

With the invention of ride-sharing and ride-hailing apps, the number of drunk drivers has actually decreased in most cities. This is a form of transportation that is incredibly popular especially with the younger generation. This could mean that when going out, teenagers are less likely to drive, thus making the argument about reducing drunk driving an invalid point. Though ridesharing does seem to increase the amount of binge drinking that occurs in a night, as no one feels that they have a need to stay responsible enough to drive themselves home.[2] The United Kingdom has a drinking age of 18, yet alcohol only accounts for approximately 16 percent of fatal road deaths, wherein the United States accounts for about 31 percent.[3] This proves there is no correlation between the legal drinking age and drunk driving accidents so it is an invalid argument. Drinking and driving depend on the responsibility of the driver, not their age.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] A higher drinking age has been statistically been shown to decrease drunk driving rates. [P2] The drinking age should not be 18, as doing so will actively cause more deaths.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The United Kingdom's lower drinking age and number of alcohol-related road fatalities contradict this.

References

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm
  2. https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/187/2/224/3867987?searchresult=1
  3. https://www.statista.com/chart/5504/the-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-drunk-driving/
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 1 Jul 2020 at 20:10 UTC

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