How Old Is Old Enough?  Posted Aug. 26, 2008, at 6:21 p.m.
Vehicle crashes are the top killer of teens and young adults.
Raising the driving age to 21 and launching new drivers by
simply handing them the keys without prior instruction would be
a grossly ineffective solution to the problem, yet that is the
approach society uses in introducing young adults to alcohol
consumption.  A group of college presidents representing 100
institutions, including the likes of Duke, Dartmouth, Tufts,
Colgate and Syracuse, are asking state lawmakers around the U.S.
to consider lowering the drinking age to 18, where it had been
in most states in the 1970s. Federal law, which denies some
highway funds to states with drinking ages lower than 21,
leveraged the change.  The arguments for at least considering
changing the laws about alcohol use for those younger than 21
are compelling.  For one thing, the college presidents say, the
laws serve as a kind of blindfold for adults, persuading them
that teens are not drinking when in f