Authors: Kristen Mangold, MSW, Tobacco Control and Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, NCI; and Ralph Hingson, ScD, MPH, Director, Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, NIAAA
During the Vietnam War, when the voting age nationwide was lowered to age 18, twenty-nine states also lowered the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) to 18, 19, or 20. Following this change, those states saw sharp increases in traffic fatalities among 18- to 20-year-old drivers, and many states responded by raising their drinking age to 21. But young people could still often travel across borders to drink in neighboring states where lower MLDAs remained in effect. Based on data from the Department of Transportation, organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Parent-Teacher
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