I would argue that it actually ends up having the opposite effect. The culture towards drinking that the US has, means that young people either have to hide really hard that they are in fact drinking, or that they never learn control before much later in life, because they go all in when they are 21. This, funnily enough is after they have had their drivers license for some years, and those two mix bad together (lack of experience drinking, and a drivers license).

I contrast this to my own country, Denmark, where we are much more lax about drinking. You can buy alcohol lower than 16% at age 16, and you can get your drivers license at 18. Parents accept that people will probably slowly start out drinking before this though, and are therefore more involved with this aspect of young people’s lives. This means they also has a chance to supervisor, guide and help their children manage this new experience of being drunk, and educate them on how it works.

At least that’s my armchair take on it :)