Painful as the Colilla's tragedy is, it's far from unique. While drunk driving accident rates in the rest of the population, have shown a decline in recent years because of better education and greater enforcement, those involving teen drivers have been showing an alarmingly opposing trend. Adding to the problem of teen underage drinking is a host of other factors that seem to compound the problem. For instance, teens are less likely to wear seatbelts than adult drivers, and are also more likely to indulge in other driving behaviors that may mitigate the problem, like listening to loud music, talking with friends in the car, snacking, talking on the cell phone etc. it doesn't help that members of this age group are more likely to indulge in reckless driving, like speeding and tailgating. When you add alcohol use to what is already a combination of risky driving factors, it's easy to understand why there has been such an increase in the number of accidents involving teens.

All is not without hope, however. Studies show that teens whose parents encourage discussions about the dangers of drunk driving at home are less likely to drive under the influence. Also, teens who have been exposed to strong and effective drunk driving awareness campaigns, both in school and outside have a lesser risk of driving drunk. Underage drinking not only destroys the lives and future of these young people, but costs society heavily in lives lost and expensive and long term medical treatment for the severely injured who survive these accidents.