IOWA
Youth Alcohol

 

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population   Alcohol and Other Drugs
Youth Programs
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  State    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  Youth, Parents and Teachers   2,500,000


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Young drivers are at higher risk of traffic crash involvement than any other segment of Iowa's population. People ages 16 to 24 represent about 16 percent of Iowa's licensed drivers, but, in 1997, they accounted for 33 percent of all impaired drivers involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash. In 1998, this age group represented 25 percent of all impaired drivers in fatal crashes. Historically, the 16 to 24 year-old group is responsible for more than 35 percent of alcohol-involved injury crashes in Iowa, as well. In addition to the combination of relative inexperience with both driving and drinking, 16 to 24 year-olds traditionally have a lower rate of seat belt use than older adults. More than 40 percent of Iowa seat belt citations annually, are issued to people 25 years old and younger.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In an effort to address the problem of impaired driving among youthful drivers ages 16 to 24, the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau developed the Youth Alcohol program in 1990. Objectives of the program are to:

  • Encourage and promote the development and implementation of youth/alcohol education and prevention programs for elementary, junior high, high school and college students
  • Support the enforcement of Iowa's .02 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) law for drivers under the age of 21, as well as other laws pertaining to the purchase and consumption of alcohol by underage individuals
  • Reduce/maintain the involvement of 15 to 24 year-old drivers as a percent of all impaired drivers in fatal crashes at 30 percent or less
  • Reduce/maintain the involvement of 15 to 24 year-old drivers as a percent of all impaired drivers in injury crashes at 35 percent or less


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau focused its efforts for the Youth Alcohol initiative on education and public information. An annual contract was initiated with Iowa State University's Department of Public Safety to develop a youth alcohol training program. The resulting program of workshops brings together high school students and counselors from around the state for a 2 ½ day intensive training program on the dangers of impaired driving, alcohol and substance abuse and positive alternatives to these self-destructive behaviors. A major theme of the workshops is how to handle peer pressure, and the development of action plans and alternative activities and social events that do not involve alcohol or drugs. Program breakout sessions discuss the importance of decisions and choices, discouraging drinking and driving through humor, rites of passage and using your own ideas to help solve youth/alcohol problems.



RESULTS
During 2000, 148 students and 32 adults attended the Youth Alcohol program workshops. These workshop sessions focused on taking personal responsibility, and included a dramatic and effective approach to discouraging underage drinking and driving.

Over the ten-year history of these programs, more than 1,400 students have attended the workshops, which put strong emphasis on participant interaction.

 

FUNDING
  Section 402: $70,000
CONTACT  
 

Mark Campbell
Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau
629 East Second Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281–3907


NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

FALL 2000