.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia

MADD's Mission

Is to stop drunk driving, 

support victims of this violent crime, and prevent underage drinking.

MADD Program Manager: Christopher R. Konschak

E-mail: Christopher.Konschak@madd.org

 

Administrative and Technology Assistant:

M. "Abby"  Amalbert

E-mail: va.state@madd.org

 

Program Specialist: Cristi Cousins

E-mail: Cristi.Cousins@madd.org

 

Development Director:

vacant

E-mail:

Telephone

804-353-7121 or

1-800-533-MADD(6233)

Fax

804-353-7122

Postal address

5310 Markel Road,

Suite 101

Richmond, VA 23230

 

Did You Know...

Did you know...In 2003, 21 percent of the children under 15 years old who where killed in motor vehicle crashes were killed in alcohol-related crashes. (NHTSA, 2004)

Did you know...Binge drinking has been defined as at least five drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women. (Wechsler et al, 20020

Did you know...Based on the least mortality data available, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people from 15 to 20 years old. (NHTSA, 2003)

Did you know...Youth who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence that those who begin drinking at age 21. (NIAAA, 2004)

Underage Drinking Information Parents Need to Know

Drinking and Driving
Traffic crashes are the greatest single cause of death for ages 6 to 28. Almost half are alcohol-related.

In 1994, alcohol-related crashes cost society $44 billion. With the additional costs of pain, suffering and lost quality of life, the figure is raised to $134 billion.

The U.S. Surgeon General reports that life expectancy has improved in the U.S. over the past 75 years for every age group except one: the death rate for 15- to 24-year-olds is higher today than is was 20 years ago. The leading cause of death is drunk and drugged driving.

Teen issues parents need to know

• 56% of students in grades 5 to 12 say that alcohol advertising encourages them to drink. 
• 2.6 million teenagers did not know you could die from an overdose. 
• Of the 20 million junior and senior high school students in America, half drink monthly. 
• Although a majority of parents believe peer pressure to be the primary reason teen-agers drink or use drugs, teens say:
  79% - being drunk/high feels good
  67% - helps to forget problems
  66% - others do it (peer pressure)
  47% - nothing else to do 
• A Study of ninth grade students from four urban high schools showed that the best predictor of risky sexual behavior was alcohol and/or drug use. 
• In 1993, 67% of 8th graders had tried alcohol. 
• A 1990 survey of Massachusetts 16- to 19-year-olds found that 49% were more likely to have sex if their partner had been drinking.

College Statistics

• College students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol each year, more than they spend of soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee or school book combined. 
• Conservatively speaking, the 12 million U.S. college students drink over 430 million gallons of alcohol a year - this is 3,500 Olympic sized swimming pools filled with alcohol. 
• A University of Illinois study found that 70% of women and 80% of men had been drinking when an assault occurred on campus. 
• Alcohol was involved in 95% of violent crimes on campuses and 40% of academic problems are alcohol related. 
• One in three college students now drink primarily to get drunk. 
• Binge drinking is arguably the Number One public health hazard and the primary source of preventable morbidity and mortality for the more than 6 million full-time college students in America.

For your information:

Approximately 2/3 of teenagers who drink report that they can buy their own alcohol.

35% of children in the 4th grade report having been pressured by their classmates to drink; by the time they reach 6th grade, 49% have been pressured.

Alcohol and tobacco together kill more than 50 times the number of people killed by cocaine, heroin and every other drug combined.

33% of nearly 200,000 students surveyed said that their parents often do not set clear rules. And half said that they are not disciplined routinely when the break the rules.

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Copyright © 2008 MADD Virginia
Last modified: July 31, 2008