Just to elaborate on the driving point: remember also that most American youths can get drivers’ licenses at 16 (I believe even younger is some places) and our licenses are incredibly undemanding. When I first got my license, in Maryland in the mid-80s, you drove around a little course attached to the Motor Vehicles Administration office. Took about ten minutes, much of it going backwards. I don’t think it’s changed. The written exam was, IIRC, 80 or 100 multiple-choice questions, all based on a pamphlet that took about an hour to read, max. So it was really just a reading comprehension test.
Suburban parents are desparate to have their children car-ready so they can stop playing ferry, so it’s highly unlikely that the standards will ever be raised. That means we’ll always have incompetent drivers, and it won’t take much alcohol at all to make them lethal to the community.
Thanks for your comments everyone… very interesting. I hadn’t really thought about the driving issue, but that makes sense. I don’t know what the attitude among teens is to drunk-driving in the US, but I have to say that the anti-drink-drive thing is one government campaign that has really sunk in in the UK - I don’t know anyone from my generation that would consider driving if they were over the limit… the culprits tend to be the older generation that still has that “I’ll be fine, I’ve been doing it for years” attitude.
I also agree with the observation that drinking at whatever time of day is more “acceptable” in the UK… certainly my workmates and I think nothing of going out for two or three pints at lunchtime, even if it does make the afternoon drag somewhat. Getting drunk would be a no-no, though. I think it is a British cultural thing - the ability to drink lots and “hold it”, as one poster said, is a valued trait amongst British males. I’m not saying that’s a good thing, though.
I think that while it was “historically” true that Methodists were strongly against drinking (“historically” meaning at least 50 years ago), it’s no longer such a big deal in Methodist churches.