Drinking Age

Jazza · #1 05-18-2005, 04:13 AM

I posted this in OOT, it seems most people reckon the drinking age should not be 21, so whats up with the 21 drinking age in the states? or do most americans actually think 21 is good, and it's just OOT who thinks it should be lowered?

bholdr · #2 05-18-2005, 04:35 AM

actually, since i turned 21, i've cared very little about what the legal drinking age is, though i do think 19 would be a good age for everything... drinking, smoking, porn, gambling...voting, military service, maybe even driving... all at one age. simple.

kurto · #3 05-18-2005, 10:30 AM

I think the problem with drinking isn't the age at what people start. Its our countries attitude towards it. Lowering or raising it isn't going to change the real problems.

With that being said, I suspect lowering it would be at least a baby-step forward. I think parents should allow their young teenagers to drink wine with dinner. Don't treat alcohol like its some 'magic adult party drink'... try to take away the 'mystery' of drinking.

Way way way back when I was in college, I seem to recall that many of the European students were very 'mature' about drinking. They weren't the binge drinkers, they weren't puking out their guts in the morning... I suspect we have one of the more unhealthy youth attitudeds towards drinking.

nicky g · #4 05-18-2005, 10:50 AM

I was watching a news piece here about some 15 year-olds kids smashing up some estate and when they asked one of them if he thought it was fair to other people, he said no, but tha tthere was nothing else to do. I thought back to what I was doing when I was his age, and I was in the pub. If you behave badly at night on the street, granted you run the risk of getting arrested but you can normally get away well in advance. If you behave badly in a pub, you get kicked out and barred, and that's bad. So we behaved pretty well. And as Belgian pubs are open pretty much all night, we stayed there until we wanted to go home (in the UK people get kicked out absurdly early and put their drunken energy into fighting, singing on night buses, generally being a dick etc). I conclude that the drinking age should be as low as possible, and pubs open as late as possible, everywhere to keep teenagers off the streets and out of trouble.

adios · #5 05-18-2005, 11:19 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I posted this in OOT, it seems most people reckon the drinking age should not be 21, so whats up with the 21 drinking age in the states?

[/ QUOTE ]

DUI, there are reasons why auto insurance is much higher for drivers 16-25.

[ QUOTE ]
or do most americans actually think 21 is good, and it's just OOT who thinks it should be lowered?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have a problem with 21 being the legal age.

nicky g · #6 05-18-2005, 11:21 AM

I forgot to mention that beer is super cheap in Brussels, which made it affordable for us to drink. All nations should strive towards cheaper beer.

ACPlayer · #7 05-18-2005, 11:43 AM

make hoegarten cheap.

tax the crap out of bud, miller, schlitz, coors all sorry excuses for a beer. Americans deserve real beer too.

superleeds · #8 05-18-2005, 12:25 PM

[ QUOTE ]
DUI, there are reasons why auto insurance is much higher for drivers 16-25

[/ QUOTE ]

And drink has very little to do with it.

adios · #9 05-18-2005, 01:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
DUI, there are reasons why auto insurance is much higher for drivers 16-25

[/ QUOTE ]

And drink has very little to do with it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course it wouldn't for ages 16-20. The point is that statistically speaking this age group more or less has shown itself to be the most irresponsible driving group. If they can't handle the responsibilities as well as other groups in driving issues not related to DUI no reason to think they can handle drinking and driving responsibly. What about 21-25 in the U.S. Do you have any data regarding out of curiosity.

superleeds · #10 05-18-2005, 01:40 PM

For the young the biggest problem is just plain old fashioned inexperience and an unshakeable belief that they impress their peers by taking unneccessary risks, especially if it mens topping a peer, (by and large this true). Whilst drink will compound this it is by no means necessary or usual and insurance companies only care about statistics. The vast majority of claims will be theft or everyday knocks and minor accidents not because the drivers are drunk but because they are not paying attention or are overvaluing their ability and the young do this more than more experienced drivers.

I accept that Drink driving is a major cause of serious accidents (altho statistically I doubt the young are particularly worse than older drivers) but this is not where the majority of insurance $'s are spent.