Young drivers are over-represented in alcohol related driving accidents.
Although drinking, binge drinking, and alcohol related crashes are dropping among young people, specific actions are recommended to further reduce traffic accidents involving alcohol. 1 Young people are also over-represented in drinking driver injuries and deaths. It's easy to forget that driving accident statistics represent real people, and that each and every death is a human tragedy permanently affecting the lives of many others. Teens and other young people may be over-represented in drunk driving accidents because, in part, they tend to be relatively inexperienced drivers, be relatively inexperienced consumers of alcohol, be more likely to use illegal drugs, and have a false sense of invincibility and immortality. The Good News Fortunately, driving accidents have been declining among young people, just as they have among the general population.