Beer! Whisky! Vodka! Wine!, Drinking Age Options

[31miracles]

Should the United States get rid of their drinking age limit like many other countries?

I believe the United States should get rid of the drinking age.
It is actually safer not to have a drinking age. When many people in the U.S. reach the drinking limit, they celebrate by getting dangerously wasted. Countries like France do not have such a big drinking problem like the U.S. because they have no drinking age. Not having a drinking age will allow children to drink. If it's legal to drink, young people will become more mature. They won't have the joy of being a badass drinking underage. In China, almost everyone drinks, and there are a few accidents.

The drinking age in America cause hundred of thousands of people, celebrating being old enough to drink, getting rushed to emergency rooms every year.

[Comptine]

this is how i look at it. the drinking age is 21. people can get a permit and get in a car when they are 16. however, it is quite evident that many teenagers can get alcohol whether or not they are 21. so therefore, we have dumb, drunk teens being able to do both drinking and/or driving.

however, if the law was flipped. let's say the drinking age is 18 and the driving age was 21. cars are much harder to obtain than a bottle of beer. therefore, kids would just be drinking without the privilege of a dangerous vehicle.

[sweetangel2128]

however, if the law was flipped. let's say the drinking age is 18 and the driving age was 21. cars are much harder to obtain than a bottle of beer. therefore, kids would just be drinking without the privilege of a dangerous vehicle.

I kinda disagree. You say that it's harder to obtain a car..not really...all they have to do is buy one or borrow one from a friend, if they never break the laws of the road and look old enough to drive, chances are they will be able to obtain that vehicle. But of course, if they look under the age or do break the rules of the road..then okay.

Secondly, just because a car isn't involved doesn't mean there isn't other dangers. Lets see theres alcohol poisening possiblities and of course violent acts towards others.

Either way if your behind a vehicle or not, a lot of people are dangerous under the influence of alcohol.

[Comptine]

I kinda disagree. You say that it's harder to obtain a car..not really...all they have to do is buy one or borrow one from a friend, if they never break the laws of the road and look old enough to drive, chances are they will be able to obtain that vehicle. But of course, if they look under the age or do break the rules of the road..then okay.

Secondly, just because a car isn't involved doesn't mean there isn't other dangers. Lets see theres alcohol poisening possiblities and of course violent acts towards others.

Either way if your behind a vehicle or not, a lot of people are dangerous under the influence of alcohol.

you can't buy a car without massive amounts of money (which most teenagers do not have), a license/insurance/registration, or at least, someone 21+ to back you up (which usually would be your guardian).

as for friends lending their cars to underaged teenagers. highly unlikely. if the underaged teenager gets caught, the lender can potentially go to jail. also, how many drivers you know will give a teenager a car?

a six pack of beer is EXTREMELY different from a two-ton car.

maybe there will be kids who can get cars. however, it would be extraordinarily lower than kids who can get alcohol.

as for the other dangers, it could be applied to adults too. so should be ban for everyone? last time that happened, organized crime and mounds of wasted cash happened.

[sweetangel2128]

you can't buy a car without massive amounts of money (which most teenagers do not have), a license/insurance/registration, or at least, someone 21+ to back you up (which usually would be your guardian).

as for friends lending their cars to underaged teenagers. highly unlikely. if the underaged teenager gets caught, the lender can potentially go to jail. also, how many drivers you know will give a teenager a car?

a six pack of beer is EXTREMELY different from a two-ton car.

maybe there will be kids who can get cars. however, it would be extraordinarily lower than kids who can get alcohol.

as for the other dangers, it could be applied to adults too. so should be ban for everyone? last time that happened, organized crime and mounds of wasted cash happened.

Incorrect. What if the parents give them that money. I've seen young teenagers driving around my town in fancy cars, speeding down the highway, I see it all the time. There's always ways to get that money, it doesn't have to come straight from a teenager not only that true most likely they wont get to buy the car but they can have someone else buy the car for them a.k.a parents.

Incorrect. Friends will allow others friends to drive their car. I've seen it happen before. Plus there is a chance that person could also steal there friends car to take a spin.

Yes, true a lot of adults are careless but most adults are more mature when it comes to alcohol for the most part, I am sure the percentage of teens with alcohol is probably a lot higher then adults. But that's just my opinion.

Yes, alcohol is different then a car but the thing is both can kill you. Cars=car accidents especially when alcohol is involved and alcohol can cause severe brain damage or even death, hence "alcohol poisening".

f**k yeah. no drinkin age. its tru tht many ppl get hospitalized or even die when they hit 21 cuz they are finally able 2 legally drink. and then i wont get in troubble @ parties any more.
no drinkin age like in argentina is better. thts why im goin ova tha summer.

I used to know someone that got hospitalized for drinking too much in one night, he almost lost his life (I don't think you'd be laughing or even saying what your saying now if you were in his position) oh and I also read in an article a 15 year old lost her life to binge drinking from alcohol poisening.

[Comptine]

Incorrect. What if the parents give them that money. I've seen young teenagers driving around my town in fancy cars, speeding down the highway, I see it all the time. There's always ways to get that money, it doesn't have to come straight from a teenager not only that true most likely they wont get to buy the car but they can have someone else buy the car for them a.k.a parents.

Incorrect. Friends will allow others friends to drive their car. I've seen it happen before. Plus there is a chance that person could also steal there friends car to take a spin.

Yes, true a lot of adults are careless but most adults are more mature when it comes to alcohol for the most part, I am sure the percentage of teens with alcohol is probably a lot higher then adults. But that's just my opinion.

Yes, alcohol is different then a car but the thing is both can kill you. Cars=car accidents especially when alcohol is involved and alcohol can cause severe brain damage or even death, hence "alcohol poisening".
I used to know someone that got hospitalized for drinking too much in one night, he almost lost his life (I don't think you'd be laughing or even saying what your saying now if you were in his position) oh and I also read in an article a 15 year old lost her life to binge drinking from alcohol poisening.

a car is still nevertheless harder to get than alcohol. maybe it's because we're from different places. i'm from nyc and most parents would not get a car for their kids here. insurance in the city is extremely expensive. and not that many kids know how to hot wire a car.

and adults are not more mature. there are alcoholics for a reason. there are adults out there who can't go through the day without their daily gin and tonic. alcohol is a dangerous substance. anyone at any age can fall victim to it.

here's the thing. i advocate a reasonable drinking age (18) and a higher driving age (21). someone binge drinking only (most often) does harm to themselves. it's their fault for drinking so much. but with a car, they potentially become a threat to everyone and themselves.

Alcohol involvement (AI)* among young drivers under age 21 and drivers ages 21 and older in fatal traffic crashes, United States, 1982–2004.

Adults get into MUCH more car crashes... why? cause they can drive AND drink at the same time. which is why the drinking age should be lower than the driving age. because if the driving age is earlier, teenagers can do both at the same time because it's quite easy to get alcohol. however, if they can only drink, it would drastically reduce the amount of alcohol related car crash fatalities because a car is harder to obtain than a giant bottle of grey goose.

edit:

Because I've seen it and I've been around adults and young teenagers.

just cause you've seen it doesn't mean it applies to the entire nation. you hang out with people your age and only see them consume alcohol. there's also adults at bars and taverns and pubs. adults you have wine/beer/alcohol with their dinner.