Drinking and driving down by half in teens

The number of teenagers drinking and driving has been halved over the last 20 years says a new study.

Research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that nine out of 10 high school students over 16 did not drink and drive – a 50 percent drop throughout the last two decades.

"There is good news in some of the data here," CDC director Thomas Frieden, reported HealthDay.

"We're moving in the right direction, but we need to keep up the momentum."

Despite the positive trend, car crashes still remain the leading cause of death in teens, said CNN.

There are more than 2,000 teens between 16 to 19 killed on the road each year, many of which are alcohol-related.

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The CDC report used data between 1991 and 2011 from Youth Risk Behavior Surveys.

The data needs to be read with some caution, however, as teens would have had to admit that they drink and drive in the surveys.

Other findings featured in the report included that boys were much more likely than girls to drink and drive.

As well, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Texas and Wyoming had the highest teen drinking and driving rates, while Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and New York were the least likely.