IT'S PART OF THEIR CULTURE

Bikes in the Netherlands. Photo by Tom Dolan, for Y-Press.

Many American teenagers would be uncomfortable joining their mom and dad over a glass of wine at the dinner table but might drive away in the family car to chug beers at a party with their friends.

European adolescents, on the other hand, may sip wine at a family dinner and then tell their parents they are going to a teen beer party later -- by subway.

Why the differences?

The laws about drinking and driving in the United States and Europe are varied. In most European countries, kids can drink alcohol when they're 16, but they're not allowed to drive until they're 18. In the United States, the law says that no one can drink alcohol until they're 21, but they can drive at age 16. Still, underage drinking is prevalent, according to many studies.

In America's culture of instant gratification, many parents think that if their children are independent sooner, then they will be more successful. Society pushes children to grow up faster and better, and this results in kids feeling stressed out socially and emotionally, says Dr. David Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts University and author of "The Hurried Child."

And when young people are pushed to grow up quickly, they sometimes try other adult behaviors too early, as well, including sex and alcohol, said Sylvia Rimm in her book "Growing Up Too Fast."

Y-Press decided to examine attitudes governing drinking and driving ages by interviewing young people in America, Germany and Holland.

Y-Press wanted to figure out which mind-sets and laws lead to young people being more responsible.

In the United States, the driving age of 16 signifies one of a teenager's first freedoms from Mom and Dad.

"I like being able to have that independence at the age of 16," said Michael Tirman, a senior at Cathedral High School.

Cost influences the age most Europeans learn to drive. In Germany, it costs 1,000 to 2,000 Euros (approximately $1,300-$2,660) to get a driver's license.

"Because of the price . . . most people get their license when they're done with school and get into college," said Andreas (Andy) Thienert, a 19-year-old German who spent a year in Carmel, as part of an exchange program.

Besides, in Europe, there are many transportation alternatives to cars.

Bicycles, for example, are very popular. There are bike lanes on every road in Holland, and it's easy to travel the flat land.

Maarten Tak, 17, a resident of Holland, said bikes are the most common method of transportation for teens.

"Everybody rides a bicycle until he or she turns 18," he said. He also pointed out that for longer trips, young people can opt to take buses and trains, which run throughout most of Europe.

But the United States is huge, and public transportation is not nearly as widespread or dependable.

"Due to the size of the U.S., it's hard for people to get around," said Andy, who obtained his driver's license for the first time while an exchange student here, although he had to petition the German government to have it transferred there.

But teens in both Europe and America do share some viewpoints. Both groups see drinking at an early age as a sign of rebellion and independence, said Andy, who had his first drink at age 14.

"Whatever the drinking age is, I think people will still want to drink, even it if it's illegal," he said. "They want to try it out because it's something new, something cool. They want to do it anyway."

Michael compared underage drinking to "forbidden fruit."

"The reason that you see more teens drinking (to excess) in America is because you have to be 21 to legally drink. A lot of kids want to experience an adult thing right now, and then they overdo it," he said.

It's different in Europe. Drinking is a natural part of life, not something prohibited or considered immoral by many people.

"For example, wine and beer are not considered as bad as they are considered in the United States," said Antonio Menendez, a Butler University associate professor of sociology. "It's put out as normal; sometimes you'll see kids drinking wine in their house."

Menendez grew up in Spain and studied in Paris. His primary research area is the European Union.

Michael, who was an exchange student in France, added, "So European teens don't immediately start drinking to get drunk." He said he drank alcohol occasionally while in France, but doesn't drink here.

Yet the French teens he met also seem to be more knowledgeable about the consequences of drinking and driving, said Michael.

Middle and high schools are especially rigorous and require students to show responsibility in all parts of their lives early in their teen years, he explained. "It's much more serious to get in a car drunk in Europe than it would be here, I think," Michael added.

Regardless of what age young people begin to drink, they need to be mature enough to handle it, said Anna Tak, 19, who lives in Holland. "You have the responsibility of knowing your limit, knowing that you have to be capable of being sober enough that you know what's going on around you," she said.

Opinions on whether European or American drinking laws are better are as varied as the laws themselves.

"My feeling is that if you allow people to vote at 18 years old, you should allow them to drink at 18 years old," Menendez said.

Michael and Andy disagree.

"In the United States, it is a good idea for the age limit to be 21," said Michael. "In the United States, there needs to be an age limit, because we do not have the same background with alcohol that the Western European countries do."

Andy noted that by age 21, Americans are more responsible and can handle drinking better.

Since 1975, 18,220 lives (of all ages) have been saved since the legal drinking age was raised, according to studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But a disproportionate number of young people are still involved in alcohol-related driving deaths, according to the agency.

Several interviewed would like to see American laws changed so that 18-year-olds could purchase beer and wine. To purchase hard liquor, they think Americans would still need to be 21.

Germany, France, Italy and Spain have this type of law. Teens at 16 are allowed to buy wine and beer, but have to wait until they are 18 to buy alcohol.

Americans and Europeans agreed more often about the appropriate age to first get a driver's license.

Michael said the key is for all drivers, regardless of age and nationality, to recognize that getting behind the wheel of a car is a big responsibility.

"You must have the maturity to be able to handle a heavy piece of machinery and not kill yourself," he said.

Menendez noted that younger drivers are more likely to be in accidents, including those involving drinking and driving. In large American cities, it might be best to raise the minimum driving age to 18, he suggested. Or maybe young people should lose their driver's license until they're 18 if they are caught drinking and driving before then.

Michael said drunken driving among young Americans won't stop just by shifting the ages for drinking and for driving.

"I wish the United States would wake up and make some changes to benefit the culture for the long run," he said. "We need to get kids to understand the negative effects of alcohol better and not just through the scare-tactic programs that you see throughout middle school and high school."

REPORTERS: Tommaso Verderame, 13; and Julia Moeller, 11.

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Minimum drinking and driving ages

Country -- Drinking age -- Driving age

Denmark 18 18

England 18 17

Finland 18 18

France 16 18

Germany 16 18

Iceland 20 17

Ireland 18 17

Italy 16 18

Netherlands 16 18

Poland none set 17

Portugal none set 17

Spain 16 18

Switzerland 14 18

United States 21 16

Laws sometimes vary on issues such as minimum age to purchase beer and wine vs. hard liquor. Some countries allow drinking at any age in the home, as long as it is sanctioned by parents.

Sources: International Center for Alcohol Policies, "Alcohol Problems and Solutions," www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/ LegalDrinkingAge.html, a Web site operated by David J. Hanson, professor emeritus of sociology, State University of New York at Potsdam

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Facts about teens and drinking

Underage drinking in America amounted to nearly 20 percent of all alcohol consumed in 1999, an estimated $22.5 billion, according to Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

In 30 European countries studied in 2003 by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, more than 90 percent of the 16-year-olds surveyed had drunk alcohol at least once in their lifetimes.

Nearly four out of five U.S. students -- 77 percent -- have consumed alcohol by the end of high school. Nearly half of all students have done so by the end of eighth grade, according to Monitoring the Future, a survey funded by the federal government and conducted by the University of Michigan.

In several countries, including Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands, 43 percent to 50 percent of 16-year-olds reported that they had drunk alcohol more than 40 times, ESPAD reported. And in 30 of the 35 countries, a majority of the 16-year-olds had been drunk at least once.

Nearly half of Indiana 12th-graders reported drinking alcohol in the past month, according to the Community Education and Child Advocacy Department at Riley Hospital for Children. The hospital also reported that a quarter of 12th-grade Hoosiers reported driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Binge drinking among young people is rising all across Europe, according to the European Alcohol Policy Alliance (Eurocare).

According to the 16th annual Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents, nearly 16 percent of high school juniors and 20 percent of seniors reported driving while drunk. The survey was released in July and analyzed answers from 131,017 private and public school Indiana students.

Each year, more than 10,000 young people in the United States are killed and 40,000 injured in alcohol-related automobile accidents, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Recent statistics show that in 15 European Union countries, traffic accidents kill nearly 40,000 people each year, with about a quarter of those deaths related to alcohol, according to research compiled by Join Together, a drug and alcohol prevention program at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Eurocare is lobbying for establishment of uniform blood-alcohol limits in the European Union, as well as uniform penalties and lower blood-alcohol limits for young drivers.

Copyright 2006 Y-Press