The survey, conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota, compared drinking and driving habits of 5,000 high-school seniors in 30 states before and after specific BAC laws for young people were implemented.

The survey found that after BAC laws were passed, 19 percent fewer teen drivers got behind the wheel of a car, truck, or motorcycle after drinking alcohol. When asked if they had driven after five or more drinks, 23 percent fewer teens admitted doing so.

The survey also found that 7.1 percent fewer teens rode with drivers who had been drinking, while 13.5 percent fewer said they were a passenger in a car with a driver who had consumed five or more drinks.

"The BAC law for young people reinforces the law that moved the legal drinking age up to 21," said Alexander C. Wagenaar, lead author of the study. "Policies, such as raising the drinking age to 21 or tighter regulation on alcohol sales, help to engender a norm that alcohol is not the same as soda pop, that it can be a risky substance and that it is not without hazards."

All 50 U.S. states now have BAC limits of .02 percent for drivers under age 21. But states have different thresholds for adults. Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have a .08 percent level. Under a federal law passed last year, states that fail to enforce .08 percent as the legal BAC limit could lose federal highway funds.

The report is published in the May 1 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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