Teens are drinking more at younger ages these days, and it's hard to keep them safe when they cannot acknowledge the dangers of driving inebriated.  As a former teen, I remember what it was like making a snap-decision under the influence of alcohol, and not taking a moment to stop and think about what I was doing.

Four teen friends in Arizona recently piled into a car, all very drunk, and hit the road.  No one had any second-thoughts.  Why would they?  One of the turn-ons about alcohol is its ability to take away a person's inhibitions, altering their decision-making, and ultimately, their usual personality.  So, these friends were all acting differently, not second-guessing any of their actions, and simply moving on impulse.  They wanted to leave, or had plans, and it never occured to them that driving while intoxicated could be dangerous.  They only knew that they had to drive somewhere, and it was time to go.

The vehicle sped around a turn too fast, and the driver lost control.  They rolled one and a half times, until finally coming to rest up-side-down.  The driver, Juan Jose Sanchez, just 17, died at the scene of the accident from serious head-trauma.  The other three passangers were taken to a local hospital for treatment of serious injuries, luckily none of which were life-threatening.  If anyone ever suffers serious injuries in an accident, the should consult with a reliable Phoenix personal injury lawyer, as the medical expenses can often be high, and compensation for expenses can usually be gained.

This death could have been avoided, and that's certain.  What's uncertain is how we go about preventing this kind of thing from continuing to happen.

There are a few methods that stand out.  The first is keeping the alcohol out of the hands of teens.  This would work, sure, but what about after they become of the legal age to drink?  Then they'll just be older, and still just as dangerous when drunk behind the wheel.  So, maybe we should try to keep younger generations from EVER wanting to drink.  With no drunks, there would certain be no drunk drivers.  But this is incredibly unrealistic, drinking with reason and restraint is pleasant and actually healthy.  Additionally, alcohol is such a strong part of so many cultures, that removing it would only result again like it did in the 20's during prohibition - temporary, and with a lot uncessary crime.

So, if we can't take the booze away, that means we have to focus on taking the keys away.  According to SADD, 28% of drivers 15-20 years killed in motor vehicle accidents had been drinking.  We have tried passing laws and scaring teens with gruesome ads and presentations.  While these help, it is only a temporary shock or afterthought.  And sometimes trying to scare teens will actually encourage them to act out, pushing them towards making rash decisions.  Threats and severe consequences won't convince teens to put away their car keys after ingesting alcohol, and might do the opposite instead.

Where does that leave us?  Where it always has - to learn and evolve.  Evolution in a particular direction requires specific, targeted growth, or education.  We need to educate the youth of this country about how incredibly dangerous drunk driving is.  This doesn't mean boring classes with teachers preaching at them while the teens play games on their phones.  This means making it a part of their culture.  We need to imbed it into teens' minds that it's "uncool" to drive drunk.  This must be done through incorporated images in the shows they watch, the actions of celebrities they follow, and the decisions of real-life influences such as their parents.  As the shapers of their world and culture, we must change ourselves and the media - in effect, we must first change our own culture.  If a teen attempts to drive drunk, and his friends say, "Hey man, we're not going to let you do that.  That's uncool," then we've succeeded.