The National Transportation Safety Board voted to recommend to states that they lower the blood-alcohol content that constitutes drunken driving. The current blood alcohol content level is .08 for all 50 states. If a driver is found to have a BAC level of .08 or above, he or she is usually arrested and faced with prosecution. The NTSB wants to drop the number to .05 in hopes of reducing the number of people who get behind the wheel after having a drink or two.
Each year, nearly 10,000 people die in alcohol-related traffic accidents and 170,000 are injured, according to the NTSB.
Studies show that each year, roughly 4 million people admit to driving while under the influence of alcohol including those who were not stopped by the police or the cause of an accident. While many activist groups against drunken drivers are very supportive of this recommendation, it received immediate criticism from restaurant trade groups.
“This recommendation is ludicrous,” said Sarah Longwell, managing director of American Beverage Institute. “Moving from 0.08 to 0.05 would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior.
What do you think? Do you think lowering the BAC will make people think twice about drinking and driving or will they continue to get behind the wheel after drinking?
