The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a recommendation that the legal BAC for drivers should be lowered from .08 percent to .05 percent.
Not surprisingly, the move is being met with skepticism across the national, especially in Illinois.
“I believe it works, and it’s been proven for several years now. We should keep that in place,” said Illinois state Representative Mike Smiddy. “Where I live, we don’t have public transportation. So, yeah, it would be a major issue.”
In defending their claim to lower the legal driving limit, the NTSB cited over 100 countries that have adopted the .05 legal limit. They also said numerous European countries have seen a reduction in traffic fatalities within ten years of lowering the legal limit to .05 percent.
“Our goal is to get to zero deaths because each alcohol-impaired death is preventable,” said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said. “Alcohol-impaired deaths are not accidents, they are crimes. They can and should be prevented. The tools exist. What is needed is the will.”
While the NTSB hopes officials at the state level will take the recommendation seriously, the change would have the potential to greatly impact social norms. Some people may refrain from consuming alcohol while out at dinner or at sporting events, because studies have shown some people can surpass the .05 level after only one drink.
The legal limit isn’t likely to change in the immediate future, but if federal subsidies are tied to lowering the legal limit, (like they were the last time the legal limit was dropped) some state mays decide to acquiesce to the NTSB’s request.
Related source: NWI.com, Fox News
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