Alcohol and drugs contribute to teen driving deaths

By Staff Writer

More than one in every 10 teenagers who was killed in a fatal vehicle accident in 2008 was legally drunk, according to a report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The report revealed that among teens between the ages 16 and 17 who died as a result of a car accident, approximately 16 percent had a blood alcohol content level higher than 0.08. Of those individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 who were killed in an accident, about 31 percent were over the legal alcohol limit for operating a vehicle.

According to AlcoholAlert.com, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSA) reports that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 16 and 20.

The NTSA recently released a report on the presence of drugs in fatal car accidents In America. Of the 21,798 drivers - of all ages - who were killed in car accidents last year, about 63 percent of the victims were tested for drugs. Of that group, nearly 4,000 - or 33 percent - tested positive for illegal substances.