Twenty-Three Percent of Teens Drive Under the Influence

According to a new study conducted by Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and Liberty Mutual, nearly a quarter of teens — 23 percent — have driven under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or illegally used prescription drugs at some point during their driving career. Even worse, almost 20 percent of teens who drink and drive believe it improves their performance while 34 percent of those who use marijuana believe it helps their driving.

Iowa's schools have tried to combat advocated for after prom party alternatives to deter students from choosing activities that are not only illegal but also could lead them to be in bad situations. Of the 1,708 11th and 12th graders polled, a majoirty of them reported that their drinking or drug consuming actions typically occured during the summer months after school is out. 

Human factors and vehicle safety research program director, Dan McGehee, isn't surprised by the correlation between this rise of drinking in the summertime verses the rest school year since there is an increase in opportunities for teens to drive together during the warmer months.

"Whenever there are multiple teens on board, the probability of a crash increases significantly," McGehee says. "In the summer, there's much more time to fill up, and it's not as structured, so there tends to be a little less natural oversight from parents."

USA Today, the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and the Des Moines Register reported on the study.