Car Crash Blamed on Popular Energy Drink; Four Lokos | Kent Auto Accident Lawyer

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Being both a parent and an Issaquah auto accident lawyer in a personal injury law firm in Bellevue Washington increasing road safety is always on my mind. The government has been steadily creating stiffer laws for irresponsible behavior such as drunk driving, but still drunk driving contributes to 30% of all fatal auto accidents. President Reagan signed the 21 legal drinking age into law in 1984 which was successful in decreasing the number of fatal drunk driving accidents. Our country now faces a new problem in the form of alcoholic energy drinks.

Recently, an Arizona teen was involved in a serious auto accident after consuming the alcoholic energy drink Four Lokos. The girl ran through a T intersection, over a curb and crashed into a tree which landed on a house. The girl was rushed to the hospital, where she is being treated for cervical fractures. This is not the first incident involving the popular beverage. Washington state banned the sale of Four Lokos after 9 students from Central Washington University were hospitalized one of which nearly died after consuming too much of the alcoholic energy drink. Just last month Ramapo college in New Jersey banned Four Lokos from campus after 17 students and 6 visitors were hospitalized after consuming the alcoholic energy drink. In May of 2010 teenagers in New York suffered alcohol poisoning and were hospitalized after drinking Four Lokos and Cornell University reports two hospitalizations in the last few months alone from the drink.

But what is it about these alcoholic energy drinks that make them so dangerous? Four Lokos contain four main ingredients: alcohol, caffeine, taurine and guarana. Though of themselves these ingredients are relatively safe, when combined they can create a grave health risk. The effects of mixing a stimulant (caffeine) with a depressant (alcohol) can be dangerous in that the caffeine negates the effects of the alcohol to where the drinker doesn’t realize how intoxicated they really are. The result of alcoholic energy drinks is the over consumption of alcohol and people driving well over the legal limit without realizing how intoxicated they truly are.

What’s worse is Four Lokos contain extreme amounts of both alcohol and caffeine- equivalent to 5 beers and 2 cups of coffee and with their high sugar content, bright colors and cheap price ($2.99 a can) they are often the drink of choice for underage drinkers. The best way to keep you teen from being involved in a drunk driving accident is simply by talking to them. Teens with a strong no-alcohol message are less likely to consumer or abuse alcohol. For more information on how to start the conversation with you teen read the article: Teen Drunk Driving: Starting the Conversation.