Why the US drinking age is 21
Why is the US drinking age 21? And how did it happen? In this episode of Vox Almanac, Vox’s Phil Edwards explores the history of the somewhat unusual way the drinking age became 21.
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After prohibition - the total ban on alcohol - many states established a minimum legal drinking age of 21. But that began to change after the voting age was lowered to 18. Many states followed by lowering their drinking ages, which changed the landscape for the entire country.
By the 1980s, this unusual patchwork of drinking ages started to be seen as a problem, especially by activist organizations like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) and RID (Remove Intoxicated Drivers). They lobbied for a 21-year-old minimum legal drinking age, and President Ronald Reagan supported the cause. His mechanism for enabling a national law? Threatening to withhold Federal Highway funding to states that didn’t comply.
It was an unpredictable strategy for an official typically hesitant to use federal power over the states, and the practice was eventually challenged in the Supreme Court, where it was upheld.
Beyond the political clash, it’s a look at how roads shape policy.
Further reading
Watch President Reagan’s speech about his alcohol policy. The Reagan Library on KZhead has a huge repository of speeches, photo ops, and ephemera related to the Reagan Presidency.
• President Reagan’s Rem...
Here are the full remarks with Michael Jackson:
• President Reagan’s Rem...
And another view of that day’s events:
• President Reagan’s Pho...
Here’s the Center for Disease Control’s review of the minimum legal drinking age’s (MLDA) effects (including the paper cited in this video):
www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-shee...
For a dissenting view, you can read this paper questioning the effectiveness of the MLDA:
www.nber.org/papers/w13257.pdf
This is the Supreme Court case that affirmed the MLDA law.
www.oyez.org/cases/1986/86-260
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18 year olds: Can I please have a cigarette or a beer? US Government: Best I can do is war
Fabricio Guerrero 😂😂😭😭
Rick Harrison type beat
In California, you can get a medical cannabis license as an 18 year old over the phone and have weed (whether it's THC or CBD) delivered to your door, but you can't buy tobacco or alcohol.
Ratatatatatata! - Yes! Puffpuffpuffpuff! - No!
* laughs in italian *
21 years old American:I can start drinking 21 years old Czech: I should stop drinking
😄
haha
Ale ozaj 😂😂😂😂
America is a continent, United States of America is a country, stop being so self centered.
Tadesse Palazuelos America isn’t a continent, South America and North America are though. So shut up
The problem is, you are really depend on cars due to the lack of public transport. In Europe, you can get drunk then take the bus home. In the US, there is taxi which is way too expensive for a teen, or someone can drive you home, but maybe everyone who could is busy or unavailable. So you have a bigger urge to drive home drunk.
In Germany, we started drinking (and not just beer and wine) when we were 14. But since we all weren't allowed to drive yet, we never drove drunk. And even when we had a driver's license, we just continued to take the bus because even at 1 o'clock at night, buses were still running.
Once again, car dependency hurts Americans. You'd expect them to realize their car obsession is a problem after 70 years.
@@wave1090 Tbf are busses that much safer?
@@alessiodelcastillo1613 uhm... Yes? A bunch of inebriated people can go home for cheap without putting anyone at risk by driving. How is that not safer? Even if we remove the dui aspect, more people taking public transport is safer for everyone. It means fewer cars on the road, less traffic and a way smaller chance of collisions happening.
BINGO!!!
As a person from an european city I have never understood this issue, but it's true that having a walkable city with propper public transport is key to reduce drunk driving. People everywhere starts to drink way before they are allowed to, that's why I think the problem is not the drinking age, but the facilities people may have in the place they live to stay safe.
How do you explain countries like Australia and Canada then who have a drinking age of 18, are about the same size as the usa and have a tenth of the population?
@@rawnature8148? Huh¿ I don't even know what you need explained.
@@althechicken9597 i am asking how the European who say that walkable cities make the difference in age can explain that countries that have less walkable cities (population verse land mass) have a lower drinking age than the usa.
@@rawnature8148 I guess we're just built different😭
@@juliastrong6748 or more common-sense? I am genuinely curious.
16 to drive, 17 to enlist in the military, 18 to buy a gun, 18 to vote, and 21 to drink? Makes no sense.
FREE CODING 15 to give consent
16 to drive so Car companies can sell more cars instead of bettering public transportation, 21 to drink so they can put more people in jail and give out more tickets
Make a lot of sense
Just watch the video and it would make sense
16 to drive makes sense though
21 to Drink, 18 to buy an AR15. Ah America.
Not to mention their president😂
campkira that’s a country with it’s priorities in order
Lets start MoThErS aGainSt ScHoOl sHoOtErS
THIS IS 'MURICA
Spectrum UK main reason is because you can enlist or get drafted at 18.
Guys, the only way to solve the alcohol problem is having an alcohol culture. If you don't learn from your family to drink responsibly as you grow up, you'll end up really bad when you start at 21. I started drinking at home with my relatives, some sparkling wine for birthdays, some red wine during meals... You start to enjoy it in a socially safe environment, and you eventually link the experience to a moderate consumption during special events.
Generally yes, but not always. Some people have biological predisposition to addictions. I doesn't mean that they must be addicted in some period of their life. It creates quite big probability, though.
How is that going to be different at 21 without a family to raign you in?@@David280997
Better still, make not drinking more socially acceptable.
Who says ones home is a safe social environment?
Fun fact: My dad was around when you could drink at 18. I'm sure he did so on his 18th birthday. However, the day after, he didn't do so (if he did, not legally.) as the law was changed the day after he turned 18.
Your dad would’ve been grandfathered in at least in Ohio. My uncle turned 18 the year they changed it to 21 he was still able to drink legally because his birthday fell before the law went in effect. My dad at the other hand technically had to wait until 21. Although most cops at the time did not really care past the age of 18. College parties were a lot less regulated than they were during my college years.
@@sos2530 if he lived near Mexico in a city like Los Angeles he could go to Mexico and drink there.
"Why is the US drinking age 21?" "Michael Jackson." "What?" "Michael Jackson."
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Heeee heeee
Chez im not even mad
He did it
Imma drink to that
Why is the legal drinking age in America 21? Vox: Michael Jackson
did you even see the vid.?
@@marconius101 almost half of it is about jackson and his allegations i waited for him to explain what jackson or his allegations had to do with the drinking age..but he didn't.
The age range Michael Jackson would've wanted to get drunk was way below the legal drinking age in all states anyway...
8oothlike
@@MahaHMA - Jackson was in the first 30 seconds and the last 15 seconds - and didn't say a word.
my State (MA) lowered the drinking age to 18 when I was 18 (1974) and then back to 21 when I turned 21. I always wondered why. I wasn't much of a drinker but absolutely loved seeing live bands at the bars/clubs. 1974-1977 were fantastic years to experience yet-to-be famous musicians and simply talented bands of an epic music scene.
In Germany the legal drinking age would be 14*, as in 14 to drink alcoholic beverages with lower amounts of alcohol (mainly beer) under parental guidance, when you're 16 you can buy these beverages and drink them alone and when you're 18 you're allowed everything else, regardless, most people start at 15, at first maybe with their parents and later with their friends
Vox always has background music that makes you feel like you're on the verge of cracking the divinci code.
😂
😂
😂
😂
😂
Me: Can I drink at 18? USA: nah bruh Me: Can I buy a tank? USA: yea bruh
That's 'merica
To get a driving license u can be 16..
@@sopanut100 in finland you start it as 17 year old and get it as 18 years old
At least you can say *Bruh* at any age
Now don’t exaggerate buddy
It's interesting, my dad was quite literally one of the kids described at 3:00, living in northern Illinois and driving to Wisconsin to go drink. Then he and his buddies would drunk drive back home, and they did indeed get in an accident once (fortunately no one was hurt). Meanwhile, my wife is from France, where the drinking age is 18, but this law is hardly enforced and it's common for kids 15-16 to be able to buy alcohol. And evidently they have far fewer automobile fatalities involving drunk drivers than we do in the US. Also, driving laws in general are much more strictly enforced in France than the US. All this makes me think that both culture, and general traffic law enforcement has more of an effect on reducing drunk driving fatalities than the minimum drinking age alone.
Also, in France you can drink at any age, you just can't buy alcohol until 18 In my case at least, it allowed me to be used to small quantities of alcohol, and I kept the same habits as an adult
@@zenleek2129 Exactly. From a safety standpoint, I think it makes much more sense to experiment with alcohol before you start driving alone so you at least have a better chance of understanding how alcohol affects your behavior by that time.
the main reason for this is because France has much better access to public transport and most places you can walk to drink alcohol
you can blame the laws all you want, but the reality is that the people from the US are way dvmber than everyone else in the world. Even if you have stricter laws, y'all wouldn't care, cause it's about common sense and that's something that y'all lack. might be harsh but it's true.
This was a super informative video, thank you!
I think the sound designers at Vox have watched Stranger Things.
just a synth but ok
It matches the time period of Stranger Things somewhat - early 80s and all, which was around the time synthies came around, wasn't it?
@@Skyfox94 exactly; synth =/= st
😂
I agree--not just the synth. Minor key, same simple rhythm, sort of repetitive arpeggiating stuff
18 year olds: May I drink some beer? US: No, that's dangerous and irresponsible 18: y/o: Can I go $50,000 in debt for education US: *we encourage it*
18 year olds: May I drink some beer? US: No, that's dangerous and irresponsible 18: y/o: Can I be in the army ? US: we encourage it
@@osez111 Thats the way it should be
What do you get when you drink tho? At least you get a good education right ?
Imagine walking down the street with a opened beer can in your hand and cop stops you and fines you while there's a guy with AK-47 walking on the other side of the road.
18 year olds: May I drink some beer? US: No, that's dangerous and irresponsible 18: y/o: Can I buy a flamethrower and a semi-auto war rifle that is easily converted into full auto? US: we encourage it
your beats keep getting more fire. best produced one yet 💰
Nice very Informative and short enough that I clicked that a like from me my guy
Title: Why the US drinking age is 21 Video soundtrack: Stranger Things Video content: Michael Jackson goes to white house....
My head hurtsm...
because things can get even stranger
😂
I know an 18-year-old boy who was not deemed mature enough to drink a glass of beer but he was deemed mature enough to endure the stresses of war and he died in battle.
@@norcal9168 what do you mean?sir
@@norcal9168 please, appreciate the people that sacrifice their minds, bodies and lives for your happiness. The military is no joke.
I appreciate everything our men and women in uniform do for this country, but honestly, as little as I drink (I'm quite old enough to do so), it wouldn't bother me much if they brought back Prohibition.
which battle?
@@DrDoggo-py5mo So invading countries based on lies and killing innocent people makes you happy?
I had my first legal beer in 1964 when I visited NY. I lived in FL. My first legal beer in FL came three years later. I remember the 3.2 beer and bars in CO back in the 1970's. Especially around college campuses.
Oklahoma beer in 1984 was 3.2
Love this editing
I keep forgetting that USA Is like 50 countries as one
that's a funny way of seeing it haha
That's literally how it was formed originally, before the Constitution
@@danielgysi5729 yeah when they were colonies
Fyfiid Leo it’s actually how its still supposed to be still.
State is actually just another word for country. The land within the USA is 50 small countries without boarders.
*Americans aged 20* “I can’t wait to drink” *5 year old British children in the company of an adult on private property* “Bruh”
Wisconsin has 14 year olds able to if the parent buys it. Even at a bar.
Lucas-Tyler Harington ikr all these other countries drinking age is weAK compared to the uk drinking age haha
I think a lot of people that young people will do the opposite of what they are told. For the most part parents that expose their children to a little alcohol, drink responsibly when they come of age. However parents that insist kids never drink, have a big mystery to discover what this thing called alcohol is all about, and they drink to excess.
Erin Thor not really. The north of England you can smell the regret of teens on Sunday mornings
@epiclolyay ... Perhaps, I was thinking more along the lines of removed the mystery, or satisfying the natural curiosity of young minds.
This video is very well done
As a British person here in Texas I can tell you guys one thing - iv seen more people leave bars drunk and drive like lunatics from the car park more in the last few weeks than I ever did in the UK and I am in my late 30’s. I think it’s a sensible law because it clearly is a massive problem. I also wish it was 21 in the Uk. Alcohol is one of the worst drugs out there and it is legal. It isn’t good for anyone , even more so for young teens who aren’t fully developed yet. I know so many people that are addicted to alcohol in my friends and family and it is horrific the effects it has.
Using a coloured map makes it almost impossible to actually visualise the colours
He did darken and lighten specific parts. He also did this to show how confusing it was.
@@Leggett___ oh
Ron Leggett, still
@@lovelykitty42 wut
Ron Leggett I meant it’s stilll annoying
If I'm correct Drinking at 21 Adult at 18 Driving at 16 What even America
Driving at 16 makes sense, that is the age where you are legally allowed to work so it makes sense that you would also be able to drive at that age
@@chrismarston4266 normally it's 16 but some can drive as young as 14 and a half
Godless Toyota yep, I have a friend who moved to NC and he can get his permit at 15
@@chrismarston4266 teens should be able to drive at 18 or 19, I don't trust teens behind the wheel. Too many accidents or not
We went to the Moon... so yeah
I find it fascinating that they mentioned crossing state lines while showing 21 Illinois and 18 Wisconsin as examples. Having spent half my life on that state border I can confirm that a lot of people are just as likely to go to Milwaukee as they are to Chicago. The border doesn't really mean much of anything out there.
6:53 Louisiana was the only state to hold out at an across-the-board drinking age limit of 18 years old, but Colorado held an 18 beer/wine age limit, and both Montana & Idaho held out just as long with across-the-board drinking age limits of 19 years. All four states didn't raise to a unilateral 21 years-old drinking age limit until 1987.
I feel like teenagers are gonna drink regardless of age limit the best you can do is teach them to be smart enough not to drive.
you seriously think a teenager is gonna be “smart enough not to drive” when they are drunk because they were “taught not to”?
@@Green-mp6ho now come on mate even people in their 30's drink and drive don't generalize. Is 18 much different from 21, no. How can yo go to an adult jail, sign legally binding contracts, drive, go to war, get a job yet you cant drink something that makes you dizzy. Does that make any sense?
james mann it does more than make you dizzy, but I do somewhat agree with you.
is why it should all be 18 and we should have public transportation
I suspect that the vast majority of drunk drivers are 21 or older.
Me, a 16 year old German watching this while sipping on my beer.
ehrenmann
Me, a 13 year old Serbian watching this while also sipping on my beer
Jal3.r nice👍👍
Funny enough, I don't see that many drunk drivers at the age of 18 (minimum driving age) with 250 on the Autobahn. There is this really clever law that's prevents drivers that have their license less than 2 years or are under the age of 21 from drinking AT ALL (0,0) while driving. That way you don't have any inexperienced or young drivers on the roads while still allowing 16 years old to drink themselves into coma and I think that's wonderful. (JK, most use alcohol somewhat responsibly due to good education about it)
Me, a 2 year old Russian chugging vodka
Very interesting! Thank you
They've actually made it worse by making drinking age 21 instead of 18 or even 15 or 16 like some countries. It's made it so a teenager would do it to defy the rules set on them and drink a lot more than they would have if they'd been legally allowed to.
5
O
The law saved lives
15-16 is a bit too low in my opinion. 18 is better
proof?
My dad did a 1 month job for GM in Detroit, we live in sweden. It was him and two other swedish engineers. So one friday night while they are out eating they decide that they want too walk back to the hotel. Which is a very common thing to do in sweden. If you can walk you usally do. At about halfway they get stopped by a police officer who thinks it's really strange that 3 men are just caually walking down the street. So the police officer starts talking to them in the begining he's a bit suspicious. But soon realises that they are foreigners.. And he asks them why are you walking. To which they answer we have been drinking and didn't feel like taking a taxi. And he proceeds to ask them how much they had to drink and they answer about 3-4 beers each.. And the cop is really confused and ask why aren't you driving.. Too which they answer well becuase we've been drinking.. And in my opinion that kinda sums up the problem with drunkdriving. in the US.
@Millenial Picasso well your legal BAC limit is actually 0.08 and in sweden its 0.02.. And a grown man can drink like 4 beers in 1-2 hours and not reach yours but in swdeden drinking 1-2 means your done driving for the night 😊
@@semyonchernykh4694 -putted'? put* (it's already past tense)
@@semyonchernykh4694 - yah- put is one of those 'stand alone' words that needs another word to make sense as in - I put on my coat - I will put on my coat - I have put on my coat - I may put on my coat - I am putting on my coat - but never putted! lol
@@wilsonhuber I've putted.... when golfing :) Miniature putt putt ftw!
People here hate being called the problem even though it’s obvious to the rest of the world that we have problems. Denial.
America: where you can be drafted into war, buy a gun, and drive.. all before you can legally buy a beer.
Gerardo Santana you are also legally considered an adult and can receive real adult charges in court before you can drink a beer
You can always go to European Ukraine - you can drink there from the age of 18)
Wow a coincidence you did it!
Gerardo Santana Help me to get 1 millions views my KZhead: Hozzww thx 😂👏🏻
Help me to get 1 millions views my KZhead: Hozzww thx 😂👏🏻
This was an interesting video. I had a vague idea about drinking laws being different in the 1970s, but I had no idea what brought about the change to the drinking age. Now I know. 🙂
And knowing is half the battle!
I totally understand the history and roadkills, safety first. When I was younger I didn’t understand the rule because I am from Europe. People drink here when 18. Sometimes even younger at home. But city design, bikes and driving cars/distance makes all the difference in safety. We often crawl home in the city or drive home in our bike but never drive. And you are f’d when driving drunk. Cars are mostly not allowed in city centers. That also adds to safety. And Nieks always are protected in the law when hit by a car. Again safety. Good video.
Kills 10 people in Afghanistan, comes home with PTSD, wants to drown his sorrows with shots at a bar remembering how his friends died from a grenade blast. Then he realizes he's not old enough to drink yet.
Mourning People with PTSD shouldn't even reach for a bottle.
Yeah that isn't healthy
(22) Omer Mert Unluer it’s definitely the best way though
Harvey Holmes certainly not the healthiest one
ArkaBahçe alcohol won’t solve your problems but then again neither will milk
There's something uniquely American about this problem. See, I'm German-American, so when I lived in Germany, I always thought it was so backwards that Americans couldn't drink until they're 21. Here in Germany you can drink beer at 16, and anything stronger at 18. But I'm starting to see that America has such a personal vehicle dependence. 16 year-old kids can drive cars, which I understand because the United States is such a big country, and the public transportation infrastructure is so poor. In most of Europe, where public transportation is fantastic, there's not much of a threat of drunk teenagers accidentally killing themselves or others, since they don't have access to such devices, simply because we have better alternatives. So I understand that the drinking age is 21 in the United States. What I don't understand is that at the same time, all you have to do is turn 18, and you can buy a semi-automatic rifle, as long as you can provide a valid ID and cash.
maybe a good reason for americans to promote improvements in their public transport lol
That's because being able to own a gun is a right and you can defend yourself. Alcohol isnt.
Eric Ramirez armed citizens aren’t a requirement. And to answer OP, it’s more than likely to facilitate being able to enlist you into the military at 18.
In Austria you can start driving by the age of 17 and start drinking at the age of 16 and we dont have young people drunk all over the place.. I also think this is an american problem
Eric Ramirez A gun is a deadly weapon. Alcohol, used responsibly, is not.
As my first American girlfriend once told me "most of my friends have been to rehab before they have been could legally drinking." high drinking ages are correlated more binge drinking among the young.
This video has changed my mind out this subject though
When my father was 18 the legal age was 18 when he turned 19 the legal age turned to 19 when he turned 21 it turned to 21 Edit: Why are you guys liking this please stop Edit: I SAID STOP LIKING THIS
lucky man
@@anastasia-wn4nr a lucky man he is
noice
Poor those who were one year younger 😂
It was the opposite for me
America: You're 16? Have a car! You're 18? Go out and buy a gun! Also go fight for the country! But we will arrest you if you touch a beer!
Muricaaaaaa
You have to be 21 to buy a gun in quite a few states. It’s like tobacco, you could buy a cig or vape at 18 until a few years ago when they raised the age to 21.
Lol. Idk where you are but you have to be 21 to purchase a gun legally for me
Freedom!
@@louis-etiennemessier8003 isn't that Great
i live in Detroit, so when i turned 19 i just drove to Windsor. this was early 2000s, 2004 & 2005 to be exact. when you could cross the boarder w just a birth certificate
Back in Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed I started drinking vodka when I was 13 years old with my friends behind our building in the alley. We would buy 1 bottle of vodka, 1 bottle of 1,5 liter soda and cigarettes by 1 piece (not the whole box) and we would buy plastic cups. Usually 7 of us. So we d buy 7 plastic cups to share the soda evenly and as for vodka we would drink it straight from the bottle passing it along to each other. Of course we didn’t have problems driving drunk since we were not of driving age which is 18. So no problem. I think I quit drinking at the age of 23 or something. Now I can drink some wine with friends with good food and that’s all about it. I am 42 now living in Miami. 🎉
18 year old: can I buy this bottle of wine? USA: No you’re to young and it’s illegal. 18 year old: Can I get married, have children, fight in the military, vote, pay taxes, and go $80,000 in debt for education? USA: Yes we encourage it and your an adult and old enough to make your own decisions. 🙄
should be 32 years for age of responsibility
I've only Voted and Paid taxes, and I'm almost 20!
@@hello-sz7hp only dead people can vote
Don’t forget alcohol is actually bad for you 🥴
@@annafilimonova5257 so is going into debt
As a German I believe that it was important for me to grow up with alcohol availible everywhere. Most of us drink the first time with their parents under controlled circumstances. That way we get to know our limits and the effects.
Thank you! When you tell a child not to do X the only thing they will want to do is X. Raising the drinking age isn't beneficial, there should be education instead.
@@chancemoses1538 how will that be beneficial?
@@folded_pizza I don’t know 🤷♂️
... say sike rn
@@folded_pizza It seems to be beneficial to some extent if you compare the stats. In Germany, out of 100,000 people, 31 people died in 2017 because of their alcohol consumption. In the U.S. it was significantly less in the same year with just 19 people per 100,000/year. Countries with stricter laws or culture that doesn’t necessarily revolve around alcohol tend to have less alcohol deaths.
I love how they went ''it's because it's lower in some states and that's bad'' instead of ''it's higher in some states and that's bad''. Like, if they just lowered the legal drinking age to 18 everywhere it would most likely have the same results as making it 21 everywhere.
Thank you for the history tid bit
Founder of MADD: daughter killed by 46yo drunk driver - "let's raise the drinking age" Makes sense if you don't think about it
18 year old bought it for him!
yeah raise it to 77 , maybe they will never have a drink ! you tr8umpin
royston mason Donald doesn't drink because his brother died of alcoholism
@@lichen6962 so?
The driver of MADD also abandoned the movement after she realized that it was attracting neo-prohibitionists.
Me: Just turned 18 can I enlist in the military? USA: Sure! Off to Afghanistan so be careful you might be shot. Me: How about a beer? USA: Nah sorry, too dangerous because roads
Yea a bunch of high school and college kids driving around and partying while drunk what can go wrong?
@@jackwyatt3854 yeah so its ok if the fully grown man drives drunk instead
Nowadays the reason the law is still in place is because of the effects alcohol has on developing brains.
But you can drink in Afghanistan tho
Yeah lol
Me, a frenchman watching this while i had my first drink at 13
Around here the drinking age is 16 whilst the driving age is 18 (with only a 0.05 Promille tolorance in your first few driving years)... i personally think that having experience with alcohol BEFORE being allowed to drive is better... You get to know the effects of alcohol and you get to go overboard way before driving... which can make you more aware of the consequences/problems...
I'm 21 and European and by this point in my life I've given up drinking.
Manu fm the ironic thing being, MOST American kids drink regularly long before 21. Its a highschool rite of passage. So this law only prevents themselves from buying the alcohol themselves, it doesn’t stop them from drinking whatsoever. Which is why I believe the law is useless and just a false way for the government to pat themselves on the back.
Zach Taylor that is if you can get invited to those party’s
@@zachtaylor9597 well it makes teenagers into felons which means big $$$ for private prisons..
Dylan Detten don’t even need to get invited to get drinks. You have some close group of friends and one of them will be able to get it.
It was yesterday, after reading how bad for a persons health alcohol can be that I decided to give up, I decided to give up reading.
This music makes me feel like I'm watching Stranger Things
Is there a name for music like this?
@@RikXtreme4 Try SynthWave and see how you go.
@@RikXtreme4 *s y n t h w a v e*
yeah same feeling bro was going to comment same
Naledi Kgosana 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 same
Germany: Drinking Age: 18 *Low Alcohol%: 16 Speed Limit: Wait, hold up my beer...
the reason drunk driving is such a problem in America is that *almost all of our infrastructure is only built to be navigated by cars.* in all of the other countries with low drinking ages, they have public transit and walkable cities. when you have no way to travel anywhere except by car, you are going to be forced to drive, regardless of your ability or comfort in operating a car. my boyfriend and i hate when he spends the night at my suburban house, because there is nowhere to go get drinks within walking distance. one of us is forced to stay sober and be a DD, which neither of us want to do. uber is expensive and there are no bus routes or sidewalks. young people are ALWAYS GOING TO DRINK. now we need to create safe and affordable ways for them to get home, not just slap a DUI on the ones who make a bad decision when no other option is available, and call the problem fixed. it's just another case of punishing behavior without fixing the reason for the behavior at the source.
Yep, that exactly what I thought. I live in Berlin, Germany. Our legal drinking age is 16, but the difference is that I can get a bus home at any time of the day and Im not required to drive home when I was out drinking. These things are some of the favourite things about my home country, we have different ways of doing things like this but in the end, they close to always work (at least better than in the US). Health care is another example
America: When you turn 18 your an adult. America: Well yes but actually no.
So you're just gonna ignore the fact that the drinking law did lower vehicular fatalities?
Sorry but 20s is an adult 18 yrs old is still tennager.. I went to school and 10-19 are teen numbers
I would like to see one age, whatever they decide, to either be considered an adult or a cold. One age for alcohol, marijuana, driving, right to join the army, own a gun, vote etc. You are either an adult or not. You can’t be an adult sometimes
Bmoose In most countries you are an adult with 18.
HamiltonRb well I agree if you really mean that. You have people 19 (adults) still living with their parents, and some are in college and parents are paying for their college education, feeding them, housing, paying for their car payments and insurance,still have them on their health insurance, and the list goes on. So if you really mean what you say I agree with you .
Please make a video on why the US allows 16 year olds to drive?
Germany also does with 16 for motorcycles-
Probably Henry Fords idea, to increase sales
E.A.G 65 it’s 18 in Sweden
It's 18 in Italy too.
@Lize Pieters It's the same reason why 18-year olds get booted out of their own childhood home and having to be forced to start their new lives without their parents involved.
18 year old: can I buy alcohol? USA: No you’re to young and it’s illegal. 18 year old: Can I buy guns, get married, have children, fight in the military, vote, pay taxes, and go $80,000 in debt for education? USA: Yes we encourage it and your an adult and old enough to make your own decisions. 🙄
The anti drunk driving stuff works. I don't think the problem was 18-20 year olds that want to drink (and where there's a will, there's a way), it was literally drunk driving. The campaigns against driving under the influence are what saved lives, not criminalizing drinking for 20 year olds. Like I said, it hasn't stopped anyone, where there's a will, there's a way.
Rip anyone who lived in a 18 state and was about to turn 18 but the law was changed
Kinda counts for me I guess. I live in Europe and when I turned 18 my parents paid me a trip to the US to see my cousin, essentially making it 2 weeks longer for me to legally buy alcohol for the first time.
Life isn't fair
It was cool for the people that turned 18 right before the law changed because they were grandfathered in. My step mom turned 18 years old two weeks before the change, so she could buy alcohol for 3 years before some of her other friends who were born on the same year could. Weird eh?
F
@@danielhertzmaybe That's funny, my parents did the opposite. On my 18th birthday they took me across the border to a country with a 16 drinking age
20 yo: i wanna buy a bottle of beer Us government: nop, too much for ya 20 yo: can i go for a $80,000 college debt? Us government: you totally should
If you’re going to college 80k in debt then you did something wrong you don’t need the government to tell you that. It’s common sense
BlueHeel98 you don’t go into college 80k in debt. it accumulates over the years
@@captaso5655 Well, if you come from a working class family, and can only afford a student loan, then how do you do 'something' right?
And I'm sure the going abroad stuff will give you A LOT in the long run
That's colleges choice not the government besides if you had tried in high school you wouldn't have
Now I understand. In our typical European country, kids start drinking usually around 15. By 18 almost everyone has at least one drunk-to-oblivion experience. But then, in our country you don't need to use a car to get to the nearest pub, park or shop, unless you are from a village.
Watching this video in 2022. Very informative video.
"Can I use guns and go to the military when I'm 18?" USA: "Yeah" "Can I drink alcohol, when I'm 18?" USA: "Lol no, you're just a kid"
No you're not legally a kid. But would you want a person buying a gun and vodka at the same time?
@@rrezonbeqiri5059 What an irony, USA has higher shooting rates than every European country.
You are wrong. You can use guns at any age. Military you do use a weapon until you train and only then until you go to war. You are issued a weapon to use during your deployment then you return it It is not yours and they weapons are closely tracked. Try stealing one. You can drink at any age at home when your parents are there and with their consent. On private land you can drink and fire weapons but not on public land. You cannot drink and drive on public roads but on private land you can. I was driving a tractor and also a 1 1/2 ton truck at 13 on our farm. Also a 250 cc motorcycle. We drove those vehicles on highways and dirt roads. State patrol knew we were farm kids and left us alone.
Usa: also heres your cigarettes
Miss_ Daisy nope federal law is now 21 for nicotine products
Traffic accidents: Beer problem High School massacres: anything but gun problem
This is so on point that American Chuds haven't figure out the mental gymnastics they need to comment on it yet, thank you for speaking the truth
America should have guns. Banning them is breaking the constitution of the United States, which makex america, america
@@agentloo9744 I'm not american, but as I understand it, not a lot of people are for baning all guns in the US, but for making the process to get one more involved. If you are a responible and educated gun owner, you will be able to have guns. Many other countries have guns but not nearly as many school shootings.
You can change it, you know?
*mental problems or people problems🙄
Great article...
This video popped in my recommended sooooo many fkn times lol
Too much emphasis on Michael Jackson who didn't have much to do with the drinking age....
right? They just used his song for anti drug campaign
Riiiight y did they even mention his allegations. Bs
to increase views it seems
Right? Never made the connection
Hehe
Long story short: instead of making a campaign about drinking responsibly and making good public transportation, they've increased the drinking age. Brilliant, 'murica!
He also lead the useless war on drugs smh
Walter Sobchak If I’m not mistaken, that was really more his wife’s thing. I think he was more supporting her rather than something he would’ve done either way, but idk
GubbaNubNubDooRahKah he was definitely part of it, and I am also quite certain that he used it as a way to get more southern voters due to the fact that black people were mostly put in jail.
Andrine Skogly I don’t know anything about that. What convinces you?
rocko44444444 brain doesn’t finish developing till age 25 so drinking age should really be 25 for health reasons
awesome video
Cool video!
Karens in 2020s: let me speak to the manager Karens in 1980s: let me speak to the president
RB86_Racing downgraded
They're evolving......just backwards
With acctualy good problems
Republican Presidents in the 1980s: I know that we are the party of small government but for god sakes this is a health crisis so you will comply with these new national regulations. Republican Presidents in the 2020s: I know that we are the party of small government but for god sakes this is a health crisis so you are on your own, don't come to me for help, I'm far too busy trying to get re-elected.
their not karens their children died i would be madd too
Why was Michael Jackson’s presence so strong in this video when all he did was help with some anti drunk driving campaigns?
Becuase he's influential
He was Michael Jackson.
Just assumptions, no real interesting data. Popular science videos from vox.... got MJ to hype it up
Because it's a hook to get you interested in the video
so in the US, when you're 18, you can buy a shotgun but you can't order beer at the restaurant ...
Lednsales - EBAY seller - Cool video games, movies, collectibles, and sports gear!! RARE stuff !! Ty for supporting small business!
In Canada the age is 18 and they don’t seem to have this problem, despite the similar geographical issues
Haha no we have a big addiction issue We’re in danger Help
Some provinces are 19 and some are 18. Ontario is 19 and they come to drink in Quebec where its 18...it had caused a few incidents.
Yeah we have roughly the same rate of drunk driving deaths. Its still a big problem, but I'd say the evidence that their stricter drinking age is helping is pretty slim
The raise in age for alcohol consumption in most Canadian provinces has nothing to do with drunk driving, but a rise in alcohol consumption that caused physical and mental issues and therefore a more strained healthcare system. But evidence it helped reduced health issues in young people are very disputed and actually ended up making pot for recreational use legally. Cities like Toronto or Vancouver, where legal age for buying alcohol is 19 smokes a lot more pot than places like Montreal, where legal age is still 18, and people still rather get drunk than high as a kite. Canada is just an over-sanitized country, sometimes it's madly annoying.
Some are 19 BCs entire age of majority is 19. This was a very "progressive" move back in the day when most provinces had it set at 20 or 21 but nowadays it should be lowered to 17 or 18 because it does hold people back for a year and also makes nearby Alberta a very attractive place to go to college at least for first year as you do get the age of majority at 18 there so its also a competition issue. Age of majority is not always drinking age though. I think Quebec has a lower drinking age then overall age of majority
Out of 50 friends here in Denmark, our average starting drinking age was 15 and we could all drive at 18, no one has ever driven drunk, not even on a scooter. It is very frowned upon if you try to drive even after having drank a single beer and most friend groups here have the same opinion on alcohol. In our friend group we have agreed to drop our keys in a bowl that until we test negative.
yes but that's just denmark, not all countries are like that
A lot of counties have different circumstances to why they have drunk driving. It can be due to education, drinking age, mental health, vehicle accessibility, and more.
In germany we handle it similiar. If youre at a party it is self-evident of the host to give drunken guests a place to sleep in case they came with their car...
In US getting your DL is a joke (very cheap or free) compared to DK (1200-2000$+) where its expensive and takes awhile. teens in US has a lot easier access to cars and lesser penalties for DUI. You can get school permit at 14-15 years old. (I grew up in DK and started drinking early, but live in the US for last 20 years).
@@SliceJelly lots of european countries are similar actually, we here in the netherlands have the same principle.
Even in India teg drinking age is 21 But only in a couple of states The rest ban alcohol
Even teens can figure a way around roadblocks. Just find a friend that is oid enough to get the beer, throw the friend some cash for his time/effort and then you get around the age restriction if it be 21 or some other age.
Reagan: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help'" Also Reagan: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"
I think it's totally situational though 1. A law to be passed that may help out with a nationwide issue (Secondary context) 2. Anything that is relating to a crisis of some sort, like a natural disaster, or a war (especially if you were just taken over). 3. You're from the government and you'd like to help 4. They're giving you test answers or homework answers as a matter of, not 100% on this, law? 5. Someone stole your dog's leash (hint hint) 6. Someone that stole your dog's leash came into your house and is trying to steal your dog (hint hint) 7. Having to hint at something in which you need to help with something preferably from the government 8. Someone came into your room holding a towel and your dog's leash is strapped onto them 9. They are trying to put the towel on your face 10. They have put the to
@@DR-54 what
@@nickreynolds9745 that was like reading the diary of a schizophrenic
@@poopinmymouth100 Hahaha *Mass confusion*
Connor McDermott yea he went mad halfway through the paragraph
"My daughter was killed by a drunk driver" Solution: raising the age of drinking Oh yeah, the problem was his age, not drinking while driving
The problem was educating youths about drinking and not banning it. You would think the US would've learned that pitfalls of prohibition the first time.
How old was the drunk driver?
Did you not hear the second part of making DUI convictions easier? Seems like you only hear what you what to hear.
But it doesn't change the fact that it worked. Young drivers are the most dangerous on the road as is, they should never be doing it under the influence of anything. Sometimes the government has to make you do the right thing.
@@glen1555 The drunk driver was 46 yo... So I don't get it.
18 year old: hey can I drink America: no but you wanna try going to war??
Have they thought about having a harder driving test/making sure new drivers have a better standard of driving?
18 year old soldiers: Can we have beer? US Army: All we can give is meth.
Double Lightsaber ZAPASOWE I don’t get it
@@2kmichaeljordan438 meth is worse than beer but still they'd be okay with that but not beer
It's Ritu they sell meth?
@@2kmichaeljordan438 I don't know for sure but I've heard so so many people say it.
Well, meth was given to soldiers in Vietnam to increase their efficiency on battlefield. On of the first instances of that was with German soldiers during ww2. It's a better known fact that it was used in the past, but meth is used in armies to this day
Why there was no organisation called: Mothers Raising And Teaching Their Children How To Be Responsible Adults in The Future Instead of Telling Other People What To Do?
They couldn't find a acronym that sounded cool so they went with MADD
Because someone else killed the woman's daughter. No matter how much she would've taught her daughter, the drunk driver would've still killed ger daughter
MRATTCHTBRAFITOPWTD (w/o some "in", "of", "the") sounds great to me.
ATallSteve Suspicious how we were never told if the drunk driver was younger then 21 or what, even thoug her death is terrible, unless the number was specifically high amongst young drunk drivers it seems like a scapegoat
M.R.A.T.T.C.H.T.B.R.A.I.T.F.I.O.T.O.P.W.T.D.
One thing is for sure, my friends and I all started drinking when we were 18, regardless of whether or not it was legal.
I couldn’t concentrate. All I was paying attention to was the stranger things music
Scrolled down to find this. Wasn't disappointed.
Me too
It’s top comment
iRuunThis same
Ah yes because all synth is from stranger things
16 year old in Europe: let's go buy some more vodka in that sketshy store, it's only 12AM 16 year olds in the USA: I'm taking my pickup and my shotgun to shoot some empty cans
Serbia Stronk Me as a 16 year old who just stole vodka anyways lol
You can’t buy guns at 16
Nezic I know you can be gifted firearms but a 16 year old can’t walk into a store and buy a gun
Nah in Europe we begin drinking when we are 13
Mystic Gamer buddy I had my first shotgun at 7 it’s completely legal for your parents to buy it for you
Man I love Vox
I had a friend who was 19 at the time and forgot the 21 yr old drinking age in the US when she went to New York City. She definitely didn't like that
My dad was actually in college when the drinking age raised up from 18 back to 21, so he had to stop drinking for a year or two and then start again, must have been kinda awkward lol
I had to stop when I was 16 and wait 1,5 year until I was 18 to be allowed to drink again. It was a bit weird and many people just didn't stop.
We got the same thing being 18 when the nicotine age was raised to 21
@@jacob-bishop3984 Right same
Your dad didn’t stop lol
Good thing the Baghdad guy down the street hooks me up
“ᵗʰᵃⁿᵏ ʸᵒᵘ ᵐʳ ᵖʳᵉˢⁱᵈᵉⁿᵗ“
Hahahahaha
shaMONAHH
😂😂
ASMR
Dead🤣🤣
This is simple . access to cars + access to guns = no access to alcohol .
Ronald Reagan: Personal responsibility and individualism Also Ronald Reagan: Even if you don't drive or even have a permit, no beer before 21, because... trust me bro.
People forget a other reason for drunk driving, the infrastructure and how citys are build in the US. In Germany I didnt need a car to get to my drinking locations. I could either walk there or take a late/early bus or train back home. You could also get a Taxi with your friends and share the 25€ drive with 6 people. When you also were in driving age you then had someone not drink alcohol and be the driver. The driver then got all non alcohol drinks payed by the people he drove and had a cheap night with storys to tell.
du weißt wie der haase läuft
This is such a good point
We have the concept of designated driver as well in US. But I was thinking the same thing, with more usage of public transport, you are less tempted even to drink and drive.
@@jessesleight9631 yeah I agree, obviously you can Uber or have a DD but compared to Europe they have way more options to get home without drinking and driving
This is why drunk driving is way more of a problem in suburbs vs cities