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Should the drinking age be lowered to 18?

Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to 18?

  • yes

    Votes: 20 83.3%

  • no

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • not sure

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • Total voters
    24
M

Masterhawk

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The drinking age used to vary from state to state until the national minimum drinking age act was passed by congress. Essentially, it threatened to decrease highway funds by 10% to states which did not raise the minimum age to purchase and publicly possess alcohol to 21 by 1989. Unsurprisingly, every state which did not already have the minimum age set to 21 raised it. This was done to combat drunk driving in part as 18-20 year olds sometimes drove across state lines to drink at a state where the drinking age was lower then would drive back, causing car accidents. And while it is true that the act did lower drunk driving, it is also true that drunk driving has gone down for all age groups since the 90s
https://www.statista.com/chart/5504/the-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-drunk-driving/
MADD - History of Drunk Driving

Also, it is worth noting that despite a lower drinking age, both Germany and the UK have lower rates of drunk driving than the US.
 
Yes. Lower it to 18.

Though I think the Germans are better drivers than us period. Drunk or sober. So they probably just don't get caught driving drunk. ;)
 
Either one is an adult, or they are not.

If the nation want's the age of adulthood to be 21? Fine, then raise the draft age to 21 permanently and extend juvenile legal protections to everyone under 21. That means no one under 21 can be tried as an adult (absent the same special circumstances we use for especially heinous juvenile murderers). That means parent's should be held accountable for their children up to the age of 21. Etc., etc., etc.

Meanwhile, as long as the age is 18? They should be treated like adults at 18. Smothering "Mommies" Against Drunk Driving nannying notwithstanding.
 
I don't think drunk driving has much to do with the age restrictions. Americans in general have to drive much further than people in Germany and the UK. The lack of a proper transit system in America is a huge reason why drunk driving is much more serious here.
 
Having a single age that delineates minors and adults makes sense. Why should a person be treated as an adult in other areas (vote, marry, sign legal contracts, be sent to adult prison and serve in the military) yet be charged with a crime for drinking beer, wine or spirits as a "minor"?
 
This is an absolutely silly proposal.

Many kids are just getting their driver's license at 16-18.... no way should it be lowered.

It should probably be raised to 22-23. College drinking is a serious problem.
 
Bucky said:
This is an absolutely silly proposal.

Many kids are just getting their driver's license at 16-18.... no way should it be lowered.

It should probably be raised to 22-23. College drinking is a serious problem.
Click to expand...

:lamo You think prohibition works.
 
Bucky said:
Who exactly does lowering the age help? Changing the law has no useful purpose.
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't. It should be lowered to 18 so it's consistent with the age of majority for everything else. Changing the age people can buy alcohol won't stop drink driving or binge drinking. Stopping binge drinking requires a cultural shift, and I'd like to see harsher penalties, up to and including confiscation of vehicles, for people caught drink driving who've had their license for less than 5 years. Alcohol certainly has its problems, but prohibition doesn't work.
 
Masterhawk said:
The drinking age used to vary from state to state until the national minimum drinking age act was passed by congress. Essentially, it threatened to decrease highway funds by 10% to states which did not raise the minimum age to purchase and publicly possess alcohol to 21 by 1989. Unsurprisingly, every state which did not already have the minimum age set to 21 raised it. This was done to combat drunk driving in part as 18-20 year olds sometimes drove across state lines to drink at a state where the drinking age was lower then would drive back, causing car accidents. And while it is true that the act did lower drunk driving, it is also true that drunk driving has gone down for all age groups since the 90s
https://www.statista.com/chart/5504/the-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-drunk-driving/
MADD - History of Drunk Driving

Also, it is worth noting that despite a lower drinking age, both Germany and the UK have lower rates of drunk driving than the US.
Click to expand...

I do not think the majority of 18-20 year olds are responsible enough to drink, heck I'm not even sure about 21 year olds. That's a time in their life they need to be figuring some things out, they don't need alcohol clouding their judgement while they do that.
 
Masterhawk said:
The drinking age used to vary from state to state until the national minimum drinking age act was passed by congress. Essentially, it threatened to decrease highway funds by 10% to states which did not raise the minimum age to purchase and publicly possess alcohol to 21 by 1989. Unsurprisingly, every state which did not already have the minimum age set to 21 raised it. This was done to combat drunk driving in part as 18-20 year olds sometimes drove across state lines to drink at a state where the drinking age was lower then would drive back, causing car accidents. And while it is true that the act did lower drunk driving, it is also true that drunk driving has gone down for all age groups since the 90s
https://www.statista.com/chart/5504/the-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-drunk-driving/
MADD - History of Drunk Driving

Also, it is worth noting that despite a lower drinking age, both Germany and the UK have lower rates of drunk driving than the US.
Click to expand...

Better reduce the top speed to 30 mph or better yet kmh.

;)
 
Yes. If you can own property, gamble, serve in the military, get married, and virtually every other "adult" privilege at 18 it's stupid to make you wait until 21 to drink.
 
I've never understood why someone is considered an "adult" at 18 but not allowed to do certain things like buy alcohol and gamble. If the rationale is that 18 year olds are not mature enough to control their behavior and make wise decisions....fine....then make the legal age of "adulthood" 21. But lets stop the silly arbitray line drawing. If you are old enough to enlist in the military and die for your country, you are old enough to buy beer.
 
Age doesn't make one an adult. True markers of adulthood include such things as responsibility for oneself and the ability to make independent decisions - (and perhaps to a slightly lesser extent, financial independence). I'm guessing fewer people are making that transition at age 18 now than in years past. This is reflected in how we treat people in this age group as a society. We no longer talk of men and women in college, we talk of "college kids." There is less pressure for young people to find work. We force insurance companies to treat young adults as dependent kids until age 26, etc.
 
http://drinkingage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002591


In many places the drinking age is set by the parents.

Generally speaking, the laws are more geared towards buying/selling alcohol.

So if you want to share a celebratory beer with your "under-aged" offspring, and you're on your own private property, have at it. (in most states)
 
Bucky said:
This is an absolutely silly proposal.

Many kids are just getting their driver's license at 16-18.... no way should it be lowered.

It should probably be raised to 22-23. College drinking is a serious problem.
Click to expand...

fine, then raise the draft age to 22 or 23. If the USA trusts a 19 year old flying a machine that can wipe out 400 lives in a minute, then it should trust him to drink a beer at the NCO's club
 
Masterhawk said:
The drinking age used to vary from state to state until the national minimum drinking age act was passed by congress. Essentially, it threatened to decrease highway funds by 10% to states which did not raise the minimum age to purchase and publicly possess alcohol to 21 by 1989. Unsurprisingly, every state which did not already have the minimum age set to 21 raised it. This was done to combat drunk driving in part as 18-20 year olds sometimes drove across state lines to drink at a state where the drinking age was lower then would drive back, causing car accidents. And while it is true that the act did lower drunk driving, it is also true that drunk driving has gone down for all age groups since the 90s
https://www.statista.com/chart/5504/the-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-drunk-driving/
MADD - History of Drunk Driving

Also, it is worth noting that despite a lower drinking age, both Germany and the UK have lower rates of drunk driving than the US.
Click to expand...

Yes, for the sake of consistency. The drinking age should be lowered to 18, or every other "adult" privilege should be increased to 21. Driving should be an adult privilege. If a person is deemed not responsible enough to drink because of their age, they should not be considered responsible enough to drive either until the law permits them to drink alcohol responsibly.
 
Masterhawk said:
The drinking age used to vary from state to state until the national minimum drinking age act was passed by congress. Essentially, it threatened to decrease highway funds by 10% to states which did not raise the minimum age to purchase and publicly possess alcohol to 21 by 1989. Unsurprisingly, every state which did not already have the minimum age set to 21 raised it. This was done to combat drunk driving in part as 18-20 year olds sometimes drove across state lines to drink at a state where the drinking age was lower then would drive back, causing car accidents. And while it is true that the act did lower drunk driving, it is also true that drunk driving has gone down for all age groups since the 90s
https://www.statista.com/chart/5504/the-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-drunk-driving/
MADD - History of Drunk Driving

Also, it is worth noting that despite a lower drinking age, both Germany and the UK have lower rates of drunk driving than the US.
Click to expand...

Yes.If you can vote, serve your country and considered legal adult you should be able to drink,smoke or what ever else people 21 and over get to do.
 
Torn on this one... Canada's drinking age is 18-19, depending on what province you're in. And we have the highest rate of impaired driving deaths of "wealthy" countries.

http://nationalpost.com/news/canada...inds/wcm/51860d2a-c8e2-438f-b235-9524a948293c

However, America is right behind us, with a drinking age of 21, so I don't know if this qualifies as a worthwhile consideration. Age limits or requirements always feel kind of arbitrary. Was I more ready to drink when I was 21 vs. 18-19? Who knows, I was able to get booze from the time I was 15, so I couldn't venture a guess...hehe...
 
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