Do you think the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18?

Elliott Preston:

Mrs Carpetlegs:

Personally I don't know anyone who has waited until eighteen to have their first drink.

I waited until I was 19...

Wow, no one I know has ever done that before. In school everyone had been drunk at least once by the age of fifteen or so.

Mrs Carpetlegs:

Elliott Preston:

Mrs Carpetlegs:

Personally I don't know anyone who has waited until eighteen to have their first drink.

I waited until I was 19...

Wow, no one I know has ever done that before. In school everyone had been drunk at least once by the age of fifteen or so.

I got bad enough on softdrink...heh. But no, I waitd because I wasn't really interested. Even if I went to parties. I was always the one who was on the 'soft' stuff. And even now I'm usually the designated driver.

That's really shocked me, I don't know of anyone who has done that. When I was younder, fifteen or sixteen it was like people's mission to find alcohol because we weren't meant to. That was a lot of the appeal. I have calmed down a lot now, now I am of age because I can legally go in to a supermarket or a bar and show my ID.

^I guess it had to do with my upbringing. I was a bit of a goody-two shoes. And my close circle of friends were not the type to need alcohol to have fun.

I don't see the logic that we can die for our country, choose the next president of the United States, get married, buy porn legally, and play lotto at 18, but you can't drink? I think that's made of stupid, honestly. It's actually the whole "not being able to do it" that makes people want to do it more. I know 16 year olds who party harder with alcohol than most 21 year olds I know, actually (I'm not suggesting we lower the drinking age to 16, but you know what I mean). I remember when my high school did the exchange program to France where it was legal for most of them to drink, and the French kids couldn't understand why the American's were all excited to drink- and the American's got smashed, while the French kids, who were able to drink for a while, looked on with disgust!

As for the whole "Seperating learning to drive and drink." I don't see the logic. In most States (I am talking about the United States btw), you learn to drive at 16. Someplaces are actually 15. Futhermore, it isn't like keeping the drinking age at 21, or raising it in the case of Australia, is gonna prevent drinking and driving. There are plenty of 21 year old who drink and drive, hell I know 50 year olds that have drank and drive (dad -_-). I am sad to say there was one occasion where I was pretty tipsy and drove home from a friend's house who lives a few blocks away from me. NOt exactly the most intelligent thing to do, but I am 21, so keeping the drinking age there didn't stop me from participating in that action.

If that makes sense.

Plus, I started drinking when I was 18.

^ Exactly.

And I remember a bunch of seniors went on a school trip to England and got smashed. When they got back, all of those seniors were suspended. Stupid, much? It was perfectly legal there, and if it were legal here, they wouldn't have even cared.

I actually drank mostly because I liked the drinks not in order to get wasted. I think most of the people today drink with exactly that in mind. Modifying the law would change very little I'm afraid.
The problem, in my opinion, isn't in drinking itself but in the way people relate to it.

I don't think changing the law would change anything except probably cause more drunk driving accidents and more MIPs.

druscilla is alice.:

I don't think changing the law would change anything except probably cause more drunk driving accidents and more MIPs.

Is there any proof that will happen though?

Mrs Carpetlegs:

druscilla is alice.:

I don't think changing the law would change anything except probably cause more drunk driving accidents and more MIPs.

Is there any proof that will happen though?

I have none, no.
Thus "I don't think"...

druscilla is alice.:

Mrs Carpetlegs:

druscilla is alice.:

I don't think changing the law would change anything except probably cause more drunk driving accidents and more MIPs.

Is there any proof that will happen though?

I have none, no.
Thus "I don't think"...

Well... there would be more people legally drinking in bars or at parties, and more people for there to be a possibility of driving home drunk, so yes, it's likely that there would be more drunk driving/MIPs.

Here in Australia, most of the drink related vehicle-accidents happen to those from the age of 15-25.

Elliott Preston:

Here in Australia, most of the drink related vehicle-accidents happen to those from the age of 15-25.

Changing the drinking age, sadly, won't change that. Much like prohibition didn't stop people from drinking, making the drinking age 21 won't stop being from getting behind the wheel of a car when drunk.

Sardonic Grin:

Elliott Preston:

Here in Australia, most of the drink related vehicle-accidents happen to those from the age of 15-25.

Changing the drinking age, sadly, won't change that. Much like prohibition didn't stop people from drinking, making the drinking age 21 won't stop being from getting behind the wheel of a car when drunk.

My feelings exactly.

No. It should stay at 21 because that's a more mature age and 18 year olds could abuse the fact that they are allowed to drink. But that's just my opinion.

spiritual advisor.:

No. It should stay at 21 because that's a more mature age and 18 year olds could abuse the fact that they are allowed to drink. But that's just my opinion.

We have the drinking age as 18 here, and in my opinion, there's just as many 21 year old American's taking advantage of being able to drink as there is 18 year old Australians.

spiritual advisor.:

No. It should stay at 21 because that's a more mature age and 18 year olds could abuse the fact that they are allowed to drink. But that's just my opinion.

I'm eighteen, and I've never abused the fact that I'm allowed to drink.

Sadly, there is nothing that makes an eighteen year old more or less mature than a twenty-one year old (as proven by my ex, and the vast majority of my twenty-one year old friends). It's dependent on the person.

Why don't they just get the clubs to put the entrance age at 21 but nationally have the drinking age at 18? That way, the fake IDs bought by people under 18 won't work if they try and use it to get into bars, since it's harder to look 21 when you're 16 than it is to look 18 when you're 16.

They do that a lot over here in the UK.

Well, let's compare to Holland who have a lower drinking age.

Holland has the legal drinking age of Holland is 16.

BUT cases of drink-driving are on the downturn

Take from this what you will.

^ Part of it is probably that being legal to drink makes drinking not as cool. I admit, part of the fun of drinking was knowing you can't do it. Now that my friend's and I are 21 and can drink, it kind of lost its novelty...

Plus, where I am from, most of the drinkers are the 16 yearolds. It's pretty sad.