State politicians in Kentucky, Wisconsin, and South Carolina have introduced legislation that would lower the drinking age only for military personnel, while Missouri, South Dakota, Vermont, and Minnesota are considering more expansive measures that would lower the drinking age for the general population.
Legislators, who are proponents of legally lowering the drinking age, are putting their state’s highway funds at risk. Each state contemplating lowering the drinking age could stand to lose up to 10 percent of its federal road money.
Since the ’80s, groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and why21.org have cited research for their continued support of 21 as the legal drinking age. According to the National Institutes of Health, alcohol-related traffic deaths have decreased across the board with the greatest proportional declines among people 16 to 20 years old.
