Position/Policy Statements
Under 21 Drinking and Driving
In 1984, the Uniform Drinking Age Act was passed mandating all states to adopt 21 as the legal drinking age. By 1988, all states had set 21 as the minimum legal drinking age. This law has been responsible for saving about 900 lives per year and a reduction of alcohol consumption among America's youth. The National Safety Council supports the minimum drinking age of 21 and opposes any attempt to lower this age and reaffirms the need for Federal sanctions for states that violate this provision.
Support of Automated Enforcement
The National Safety Council recognizes that speeding, running red lights, ignoring school and work zones and railroad crossing warnings annually result in more than 15,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands of serious injuries, societal costs of at least $54 billion and immeasurable grief for American families. The National Safety Council supports the use of automated enforcement of red lights and speed limits solely for its safety benefit. Prior to implementing automated enforcement systems, NSC encourages communities and states to adopt best practices for their use, including engineering, maintenance, calibration, yellow light timing, testing, camera placement and use of photos only for traffic safety and pursuit of criminal activity. Communities and states implementing automated enforcement also are encouraged to establish procedures to evaluate and improve effectiveness.
These position statements reflect the opinions of the National Safety Council but not necessarily those of each member organization.