Minimum legal drinking age legislation in Canada can have a major impact on young drivers, according to a recent study.

Researcher from the Northern Medical Program at the University of Northern British Columbia found that drivers just older than the legal age had a significant increase in motor vehicle crashes compared to those immediately under the restriction.

"Our research provides current information for both Canadian and international policymakers to draw on when considering alcohol policy reform and the effectiveness of MLDA legislation," Russ Callaghan, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "Drinking-age laws can have major consequences on driving safety and are an important part of contemporary alcohol-control and driving-related policies designed to limit the motor vehicle collisions in youth." 

For the study, Callaghan and his colleagues looked at Quebec motor vehicle collision statistics between 2000 and 2012 which involved young drivers. They found that, compared to those just below legal age, there was an abrupt increase of 6 percent in collisions for drivers at or above the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA).  This increase was even more marked at night when collisions increased by 11 percent immediately at the minimum legal drinking age.

"As soon as youth are given legal access to alcohol, there are immediate effects on the road," Callaghan explained. "The number of collisions involving both male and female drivers who have just reached legal drinking age rises dramatically, which illustrates the impact that alcohol-related legislation can have on population harm and injury prevention."

At present time, the minimum legal drinking age is 18 years of age in Alberta, Manitoba, and Québec, and 19 years in the rest of Canada. Recently, the Canadian Public Health Association and a national expert-panel working group have recommended that the legal drinking age be raised to 19 years across the country.

Based on the findings, researchers found that raising the drinking age to 19 years in Québec would prevent 337 police-reported collisions per year that involved at least one 18-year old driver. If it were raised to 21 years, it could be expected that approximately 583 police-reported collisions per year could be prevented for drivers between 18 and 20 years of age.