What do you think about Jamaica's drink age (18) in comparison to the USA (21)?

Question

Do you think there are more drunk driving accidents in Jamaica as a result? Comparatively speaking, how do you think the age limits affect youth behavior in either country?

Answer 1

to me once you turn 18 you are responsible for your own actions so i think a 21 drinking age is too high. if you can smoke at 18 you should be able to drink

You hardly here of jamaicans getting into car accidents because of alcohol....its more because of reckless driving

Answer 2

well i'm against it....but then again i'm again drinking again in general, cuz you're not really allowed to drink at all in Islam.

Answer 3

mi nuh think no ting wrong wid it.

Answer 4

Honestly,I think 21 is still too young to drink! I think 25 would be even better! I only drink on occasion.At 18 years old you are still technically a teenager,and you should not be allowed to drink like an adult! That is just my opinion because I work in a hospital emergency room and see too many drunk driving accidents and binge drinking by youths! How come an 18 year old can have a baby,get married,but not be allowed to drink in the US?I am against drinking in general!

Answer 5

i have to comment on this 1 as i go jamaica every3 mths and its always the same.most people actually drive wid a guiness or redstripe which i find absolutey wrong.ive got ina taxi and hear clanking on the floor and wen i looked well there were empty bottles rolling about.ya dun no i jus told him to stop and let me out.it wouldnt make a difference if it 21 in jamaica as people wud still drink and drive.wen i went to usa i didnt get served alcohol and i was 30 then,it was quite flattering but i didnt have any id and they still said no.he was amazed how young i looked for 30.worse thing was i was a manager of a bar.lolololololol.always tell that story to dis day.wid the binge drinking i think dats more in the usa and the uk.jamaicans take their time whilst drinking but usa and uk peeps get  to excited on alcohol which then causes binge drinking and then starts the trouble.thers alot of violence ere in the uk and alot of it caused by youngsters going out getting off their faces and fighting and killing each other.the murder rates ere as rocketed amongst the 18 to 25 yr olds.we all like a drink but no yaself and dont think people actually can control themselves till thye reach  25 onwards.i think every country shud have the age limit at 21.a good friends son went into the local city and had a nite on the town new yrs eve.he was 24 and lost his life to a stupid arguement and wid 1 stab his life was gone.any1 close to him their lives ruined.im always aware of any1 drink driving and i dont agree 200% wid it.i think they shud be more harder wid the sentencing of drink driving.very good question.pinksssssssssssssss

Answer 6

After being in Jamaica, I would think there would be more accidents due to how fast they drive on narrow roads than how much alcohol they consume.

Answer 7

Seriously, does Jamaica have an ENFORCED drinking age? If my memory serves me correctly as far back as third form I was being admitted into pay parties/ sessions where there was liquor in abundance and no restrictions in getting it even though I was CLEARLY under age. Whereas in the States, proper identification is required where liquor is being sold, there is no such system here in Jamaica. This is why when someone mentions the words "legal drinking age" in Jamaica it sounds absurd to me. There really are no measures put in place down here to ENSURE that there is no underage drinking. So in my opinion the legal drinking could be 18, 21 or 45 for all I care. Once there are no stringent measures implemented to enforce the legal drinking age it really is immaterial in the grand scheme of things. As to the drunk driving accidents bit. Unlike the States, as far as I know anyway, there are no conclusive statistics to indicate how many traffic accidents are attributed to drunk drivers. As Shakka said, some Jamaican people either don't know or don't obey the road code. Some of us don't even take proper tests to obtain our drivers' licences. We just pay a little money to the person administering the test and voila! driver's licence. As a result there are hundreds of thousands of motorists on our roads that don't even have a clue as to how to drive. The road, especially in the wee hours of the morning, is basically a free-for-all for drunk patrons going home from parties while everyone else has to cower in their cars in fear. As a matter-of -fact the Jamaican road is overrun with hooliganism at any given hour of the day.

The bottomline is that (I apologise for my betrayal to my country) Jamaica is a society that thrives on lawlessness, corruption and gangsterism and any bad thing that happens can be directly attributed to that. Traffic accidents should be attributed to road hogs and incompetent and unfit drivers who "bought" their licences. Drunk driving accidents caused by drunk teenagers should be attributed to there not being an enforced legal drinking age and the fact that their licences were bought. Not rocket science. And furthermore, in my opinion, there isn't a sub-culture of alcoholism among youths in Jamaica as there is in the States. Mind you, there is one of young people going out and having a good time and consuming alcohol but not one of blatant ALCOHOLISM. Not so much so that the legal drinking age would affect anyone's behaviour. There is definitely more of a sub-culture of heavy drinking among the elderly ie the "rum-bar" (Jamaicans you know what I'm talking about). Drinking among the youth is done in a more social context, not as a way of life or a habit that accounts for a large part of the life of any youth.

Answer 8

If you're old enough to vote, old enough to join the military, old enough to shoot and be shot at in a combat zone, old enough to be charged as an adult and go to adult prison, and old enough to enter a legal contract you ought to be old enought to drink.

There are those in the United States who wish that the 18th amendment hadn't been repealed. Since they can't manage that, what else is there to do but chip away rights "for the well-being of the children". Polticians will vote for it since it's politically correct and MADD has a strong lobby.

I agree with the college presidents. This hasn't stopped it, it's simply moved it to places where responsible behavior is less likely to occur.

The drunk driving accidents in Jamaica aren't a fair comparison given the differences in culture.

Answer 9

Doesnt matter what age you are--alot of people are very irresponsable  when they drink.no matter what there age.  I think it's sad our troops are old enough to fight in war but can't go in a bar for a drink.

Answer 10

Di ting is, at 18 out yah, yuh can vote, ave yuh drivas licence, married bout 2 time arredy, yuh is ah parent arredy, so di law say, since yuh go tru all dat arredy, ah time fi yuh start drink.

Howeva we nuh juss drink alone, we smoke to, an we nuh too like tobacco, higha grade, so we nuh get drunk, we get parro.

Americans at 21 years old get fi vote fi ah phucked up President arredy, know dat half de world waan buss dem a$$, so why not get   drunk real quick, an ease de pain, an wuss, de 'grade' limited an de liquor plenty an cheap.

Di road accidents out yah, nuh cause too much from drunk drivin, but mainly from inexperience drivers, shotta drivas, who nuh know wha name road code, an tink di white line ah fi who deh pon ayste.