South Dakota Statistics
In 2003:
(SD
Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
75% of South Dakota high school students had one or more drinks of alcohol
in their lifetime,
45% had one or more drinks of alcohol in the past 30
days
28% had 5 or more drinks of alcohol in a row on one or more days during
the past 30 days.
In
2005: (SD
Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
77% of South Dakota high school students had one or more drinks of alcohol
in their lifetime
47% had one or more drinks of alcohol in the past 30
days
34% had 5 or more drinks of alcohol in a row on one or more days during
the past 30 days.
24% of South Dakota high school students drank alcohol prior to age 13.
In
2007:
(SD
Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
76% of South Dakota high school students had one or more drinks
containing alcohol in their lifetime.
44% had one or more drinks containing alcohol in the past 30 days.
30% had 5 or more drinks containing alcohol in a row on one or more
days during the past 30 days.
21% of South Dakota high school students drank alcohol prior to age
13
The numbers are improving, but far too many
South Dakota teens continue to put themselves and others at risk.
In 2006 - the latest report available -
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There were 15,730 car crashes in 2006, with 6,015 injuries and 191 fatalities.
67 of those deaths were in alcohol-related crashes. 29.2% of drivers in the
fatal crashes had been drinking and 8.2% of the drivers involved in injury
crashes had been drinking.
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30 people younger than 20 years
old were killed in car crashes on South Dakota roads (15.7% of all fatalities).
14 of those deaths are attributed to alcohol-related crashes. In 2007, nine
teens were killed in such crashes.
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17.2% of all licensed drivers are under 25-years old. They accounted for
25.4% of the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 33.6% of the drivers in
injury crashes - and 39.9% of the drinking drivers in fatal and injury
crashes.
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The peak time for
fatal crashes was 2:00-4:59 p.m. 18.0% of the fatal crashes occurred
during this three-hour period. The peak time frame for injury crashes was
3:00-5:59 p.m. with 25.4% of the injury crashes occurring during that
period.
Summarized from the
2006 South Dakota Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Summary
Additional Stats:
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth aged 15-19
in the United States. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -
NHTSA)
Heavy
drinking among youth is also associated with risky sexual behavior, violence
and the use of cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, Methamphetamine and
other illegal drugs.
Nationally:
v
One out of
every two 8th graders has tried alcohol. (Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration
SAMHSA)
v
More kids
use alcohol than use tobacco or illicit drugs. (SAMHSA)
More children are killed by alcohol than all illegal drugs combined. (Entertainment Industries Council
EIC & National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
& Alcoholism
NIAAA)
Children
who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are 5 times more likely to
develop alcohol problems than those who start after age 21. (NIAAA)
Research also shows that teens are less likely to drink when their parents are
involved in their lives and when they and their parents report feeling close to
each other. (Journal
of Studies on Alcohol). Studies also
show that young people are less likely to use alcohol if their parents set clear
rules about not doing so. Find out more about talking to your children
about drinking - including conversation starters
and how to respond if your teen gets
upset - setting rules, and
dealing with a teen that you believe
is already drinking.
