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Period: to
Drinking Age
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Misdemeanor
By 1910, drunk driving had already been codified as a misdemeanor offense. -
Drinking age
Original ABC Act stated that the legal age for purchase, possession or consumption of any alcoholic beverage was 21 years of age. -
The Highway Safety Act
The Highway Safety Act of 1966 was crucial to mobilizing attention and resources in an attack against drunk driving. -
NHTSA
NHTSA launched the Alcohol Safety Action Project (ASAP), the first major U.S. initiative against drunk driving. -
Drinking age lowered
Legal Drinking Age (LDA) for beer lowered from 21 to 18. LDA for wine and liquor remained at 21 years old, -
MADD started
The Irving, Texas–based organization was founded in 1980 in California by Candice Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver. It stands for mothers against drunk driving. -
MADD
In the United States, the number of drunk driving deaths has been cut in half since MADD was founded in 1980. -
Off-premises drinking age become 19
LDA for beer remains at 18 for on-premises consumption and is raised to 19 for off-premises consumption. -
Age to by beer becomes 19
LDA is raised to 19 years old for all sales of beer. -
Grandfather Clause
Persons born on or after July 1, 1966 will be able to purchase beer, wine and liquor on and after their 21st birthday. Persons born before July 1, 1966 will retain the privilege to purchase, possess and consume beer. -
Drinking Age becomes 21
LDA raised to 21 for all alcoholic beverages. -
Underage Death
Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking -
Choose Responsibility
McCardell founded Choose Responsibility (CR), a nonprofit group devoted to spreading awareness of the dangers of excessive and reckless alcohol consumption by young adults. CR’s main goal is to lower the drinking age to 18, combined with better education about alcohol use. -
Arrested in 2010
Over 1.41 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
