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Impaired Driving: Talk With Your Kids

www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov

Impaired driving remains an issue that affects 

Americans every day. On average, three in 

five people will be involved in a crash due to 

impaired driving in their lifetime.1 Impaired 

driving can have serious consequences, 

including injury and death. In 2016, 10,497 

people died in crashes caused by alcoholimpaired driving, accounting for 28 percent 

of all traffic-related deaths in the United 

States.2 Additionally, drugs other than 

alcohol are involved in about 16 percent of 

motor vehicle crashes.3

 

Impaired driving is entirely preventable. 

Know the facts, and talk with your kids about 

the dangers of driving under the influence of 

alcohol or other drugs:

• About one in four teen car crashes 

involves an underage drinking driver.4

• Every day about 800 people are injured 

in a drunk-driving crash.5

• Every day in America, another 29 people 

die as a result of drunk-driving crashes. 

That’s one person every 50 minutes.6

• Marijuana use is 

increasing, and 13 

percent of weekend 

nighttime drivers have 

marijuana in their 

system.7

• Marijuana users were about 25 percent 

more likely to be involved in a crash than 

drivers with no evidence of marijuana 

use.2

Keeping Your Kids Safe

The most effective way to stop impaired 

driving is to prevent it from happening in 

the first place. Use the following tips when 

talking with your kids about drunk and 

drug-impaired driving. 

Don’t Wait for the “Right” Time—It’s 

always a good time to talk to your kids 

about the dangers of impaired driving. Here 

are some common situations you can take 

advantage of to discuss drunk and drugimpaired driving:
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• When your child asks to borrow the car;

• When you’re at the dinner table 

together;

• When your child asks if he or she 

can ride with a friend to school/a 

concert/a party;

• When you’re running weekend errands;

• When you’re at the grocery store; and

• When you and your child are in the car 

together.

Reinforce Expectations—Make sure your 

children know what you expect from them 

when it comes to impaired driving. Let 

them know it’s never okay to get behind 

the wheel of a motor vehicle while under 

the influence, and that getting in a car with 

someone who has been drinking or using 

drugs is also dangerous. 

Help Them Build an Exit Plan—Some 

kids may not know what to do if a friend or 

family member who is under the influence 

of alcohol or other drugs offers them a ride. 

Explain to your child that it’s okay to say 

no, and help them think through an exit 

strategy. For example, you can suggest:

• Calling a rideshare service or taxi;

• Calling a relative or friend for a ride 

home;

• Staying the night at their current 

location; and

• Convincing the person under the 

influence not to drive. Mention that 

drunk and drug-impaired driving is 

illegal and unsafe and suggest they 

find another way home.

Show Them You Care—Kids are more 

likely to listen when they know you’re on 

their side. Make sure they know that you’re 

talking to them about impaired driving 

because you care about their safety, not 

because you assume they would ever drive 

drunk or drug-impaired driving. 

Additional Resources

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration’s “Talk. They Hear 

You.”® Campaign aims to equip parents 

and caregivers with the knowledge and 

resources they need to talk with their children 

under the age of 21 about alcohol and other 

drugs. Visit www.underagedrinking.samhsa.

gov for additional resources to help you get 

the conversation started.

References

1

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2017, October). 

Alcohol-impaired driving: 2016 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report 

No. DOT HS 812 450). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration.

2

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2017, October). 

Alcohol-impaired driving: 2016 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report 

No. DOT HS 812 450). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration.

3

 Compton, R. P. & Berning, A. (2015, February). Drug and alcohol 

crash risk. (Traffic Safety Facts Research Note. Report No. DOT 

HS 812 117). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration.

4

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2015, October). 

Young drivers: 2013 data. (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT 

HS 812 200). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration. 

5

 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Traffic Safety 

Facts 2015: Alcohol-Impaired Driving.” Washington DC: National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.

dot.gov/Pubs/812231.pdf

6

 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2017, October). 

Alcohol-impaired driving: 2016 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report 

No. DOT HS 812 450). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration.

7

 Berning, A., Compton, R., & Wochinger, K. (2015). Results of 

the 2013–2014 national roadside survey of alcohol and drug use 

by drivers. (Traffic Safety Facts Research Note. Report No. DOT 

HS 812 118). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration.

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 Lacey, J. H., Kelley-Baker, T., Berning, A., Romano, E., Ramirez, 

A., Yao, J., ,... & Compton, R. (2016, December). Drug and alcohol 

crash risk: A case-control study (Report No. DOT HS 812 355). 

Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov

SMA-18-5074