Underage DUI is a serious problem plaguing colleges and communities, and is also a primary cause for young teenagers getting their very first criminal record. Not only is underage drinking and driving a major safety risk, it is also a major health risk for college students, who typically record high rates of binge drinking, fatal intoxication and other problems. According to some estimates as many as 80% of college students admit to drinking alcohol, and more than one-third admit to binge drinking.
Very often, binge drinking translates into an underage DUI, because binge drinkers, may not understand that they are intoxicated enough to be pulled over or arrested for DUI. However, it doesn't have to be this way. A new study finds that colleges can do much to help reduce the risk of college DUI.
The research was conducted by scientists from Brown University and the Miriam Hospital in Providence and Rhode Island. They analyzed dozens of different studies on drinking interventions among college freshmen. They found in their analysis that some intervention strategies seemed to work much better than others in helping reduce underage drinking and DUI. Also, all the intervention strategies that they analyzed seemed to work in helping reduce underage drinking.
The strategies include everything from providing students with a personalized assessment of their drinking habits, to providing them with the means to help cut down on drinking alcohol. All of these interventions seemed to be very beneficial for students in helping reduce the amount of alcohol they consumed. The benefits were seen, regardless of differences in gender and ethnicity.
According to the researchers, it is evident from this analysis that there is much that colleges can do to help intervene when students have a drinking problem. The researchers also believe that colleges simply aren't doing enough to tackle this problem.