Drinking and driving is another danger related to teen drinking. 40% of alcohol-related fatal car crashes involve teenagers. Teens may not realize they are too impaired to drive or may be afraid to call home for a ride. Other effects of alcohol use in adolescents include decreased inhibitions which can lead to risky behaviors. Alcohol intoxication impairs judgment, and intoxicated adolescents may engage in a variety of dangerous behaviors. According to a 1999 study conducted by the Pacific Institute on Research and Evaluation (PIRE), approximately 3,500 deaths per year are caused by drinkers under the age of 21. Of these, homicides account for the largest number (around 1,600 per year), followed by drunk driving (1,400) and teen suicides (260). The remaining approximately 300 deaths are caused by other accidents, drownings, burns and alcohol overdoses. Thirty states lowered the legal drinking age to 18 during the 1970s. However, in response to the increase in traffic fatalities (Wagenaar, 1983; Williams et al., 1974), nearly all states raised the minimum drinking age between 1978 and 1987. In 1984, legislation was enacted federal government that threatened to withhold a portion of federal subsidies. highway funds from states with a minimum drinking age of less than 21. All states eventually complied (Chaloupka et al., 2002). Evidence indicates that uniformly higher drinking ages have reduced alcoholism