SURPRISING

Teen Drinking and Driving Drops

Behavior cut in half over the last 20 years.

Texting aside, teens may be more responsible drivers than they were 20 years ago. According to federal health officials, the percentage of high schoolers who get drunk and then hop behind the wheel has declined by more than half in the past 20 years. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed 10.3 percent of high-school students reported drinking and driving in the past month, compared with 22.3 percent who answered the same in 1991. Of course, the problem of teen drinking and driving is far from eliminated: about 1 million teens admitted to drinking before driving last year, and car crashes remain the leading cause of death for 16- to 19-year-olds.