Juveniles responded that they usually have three to five friends in the car. Most juveniles are very social, and they like to be in the company of friends. The significance of the juvenile response is that, in an overwhelming number of cases of alcohol-related crashes involving teen drivers, at least one of those three to five friends had nothing to drink yet that friend did not drive. Youths tend to be trustful and will often let a friend drive when he or she has no business behind the wheel. Adults generally responded that they are at a bar or a home party.
Adults tend to drink in social settings.
Juveniles generally responded that they are at a party. But in almost all cases, they are also around a car. It is the pattern of combining social drinking with driving that accounts for juveniles alcohol-related crashes and not simply drunk driving. This is the true meaning of juvenile impaired driving. Because motor vehicle crashes are the number-one cause of teen death and serious injury in the United States, alcohol use by juveniles should be considered one of the most critical public health problems today.