Advocates of the law say it allows parents to educate their kids and supervise underage drinking. That's a fair argument at ages 18-21. Personally, I have never understood why we say young people age 18 are old enough to fight and die in war, but not mature enough to drink alcohol. This Wisconsin law, however, establishes no floor. You can serve alchol to a 10 year old, though the discriminating bartender will surely say "that's a no-go."
According to the news article, in addition to the legally drunk minors, drunk drivers in Wisconsin are not charged with a felony until they have been arrested a fifth time and Wisconsin law prohibits sobriety checks by the police.
Sadly, an organization formed to change Wisconsin's liquor laws informs us the state's loose approach to drinking has consequences:
1. Wisconsin has led the nation in binge drinking (5 drinks in a sitting for men, 4 in a sitting for women) every year since the CDC began its surveys more than a decade ago.
2. People in Wisconsin are more likely than anywhere else to drive drunk.
3. Wisconsin has among the highest incidence of drunken driving deaths in the United States.
Hard for me to say how scientific the connection is between lower drinking ages and drunk driving, binge drinking, etc. Makes a certain logical sense, but maybe it's the cold or the cheese or those underachieving Packers!
Regardless, I found this Wisconsin approach to "underage" drinking very interesting and with some merit. For now, I'll just dabble at supporting lowering the drinking age to 18 (maybe only when in the company of a parent?) and be glad I have several years before I address this with my boys.
5 comments:
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I've read where the national average age of the first drink is 12. You're half way there.
Also, there are numerous studies (medical and psychiatric) that show the lower the age for the first drink, the more issues the drinker is going to have.
"Survival analyses revealed a rapid progression to alcohol-related harm among those who reported having their first drink at ages 11–14. After 10 years, 13.5% of the subjects who began to drink at ages 11 and 12 met the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse, and 15.9% had a diagnosis of dependence. Rates for subjects who began to drink at ages 13 and 14 were 13.7% and 9.0%, respectively. In contrast, rates for those who started drinking at ages 19 and older were 2.0% and 1.0%." Age at First Alcohol Use: A Risk Factor for the Development of Alcohol Disorders, by David J. DeWit, Ph.D., Edward M. Adlaf, Ph.D., David R. Offord, M.D., and Alan C. Ogborne, Ph.D A.m J Psychiatry 157:745-750, May 2000. (I should point out I have no idea the merits of this study. It simply had an interesting conclusion that may have been debunked. I don't have time to do the research now.)
I could go for lowering the age to 18, seems only fair--vote, die for country, and drink. Any lower, even with a parent, seems like a bad idea.
Wonder what focus on the family would say? They're probably for it no matter the child's age so long as the parent is one member of a heterosexual couple.
As a former resident of the great state of WI, I could never understand this law. Drinking is such a huge part of the culture there and it also is a huge part of the problems of the state.
Erick, what does Focus on the Family have to do with the subject?
I thought your other comments were well stated, but I was a little confused about the Focus comment.
Scroll down, Carrie. It will all become clear. E-Rick jokes here, but I detailed some of FFF's nefarious activities in prior posts.
Yes, I was simply tying multiple posts together.
In Wisconsin's fatal vehicle crashes, about 40% are attributed to a drunk driver (BAC at .08 or higher).
The national average is around 32%, which tells me two things:
1) It is accurate to say that Wisconsin has a higher rate of alcohol-related fatal crashes than many other states.
2) This is a nationwide problem, that, if solved, would eliminate around 13,000 traffic deaths each year in the country.
Whenever I put on the "Professor for a Day" hat at the University to talk about Traffic Engineering, I always end with this statement:
"I've read hundreds of crash reports and analyzed thousands of pieces of traffic data. There are two things you can do that will make it nearly impossible for you to die in a traffic crash:
1) Always wear your seat belt.
2) Don't drive after drinking or ride with a drinking driver."
The vast majority of deaths are unbuckled, impaired, or the passenger of an impaired driver (and often a combination of these).
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