In May of 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) voted to encourage states to lower the current blood alcohol content limits for drivers from 0.08 to 0.05 percent. Although surely motivated by good intentions, the logic behind such a serious statement must be thoroughly investigated. According to the NTSB, drivers with a 0.05 to 0.08 Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) represented a mere 8 percent of all drivers involved in fatal accidents, and alcohol impairment is not necessarily the cause for the entirety of that statistic. The difference between a 0.05 and a 0.08 BAC would consider a social drinker to be a criminal. Depending on body type and weight, one or two drinks, under a revised limit, would warrant an arrest. BAC also does not consider how an individual person responds to alcohol so the number itself is purely subjective.
Although changing the limit could decrease the number of alcohol-related accidents, other factors that affect driving abilities will remain. In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the results of a study, which indicated that roughly 80 percent of crashes are caused by driver inattention or distraction within three seconds of the crash. The resources that would be diverted towards changing the limit could be utilized for other purposes, such as for enforcing existing laws. Investing towards Ignition Interlock Devices (IID), which require a breath sample before the engine will start, would be more advantageous. The International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety claim that these devices, combined with a monitoring program, lead to a 40 to 95 percent reduction in the rate of repeat offenses. Moreover, the most prominent group for this issue, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), has not endorsed this change. The group maintains that resources should be used for realistic solutions.
If a new limit is imposed, there will naturally be an increase in the number of offenders. The same number of policemen will be faced with more offenders. There are still risks with driving with a 0.05 percent BAC, but the risks are considerably lower than driving with a 0.10 percent or even a 0.15 percent BAC. Instead of being able to successfully target the more serious offenders, the policemen would be preoccupied with low risk offenders. Even with the current restrictions, the police force has not been able to fully enforce regulations. Resources should also target other serious causes of accidents.
Many states, including Tennessee, have successfully decreased the number of alcohol-related accidents in the last few years. The age limit and the zero tolerance policy have contributed to this, including new technological advances. In Tennessee, according to the NHTSA, the number of alcohol impaired fatalities with a 0.08 percent or greater BAC has decreased consistently from 377 in 2007 to 257 in 2011. According to the MADD state report, Tennessee has made great progress with the use of the IDDs. Other states have implemented new programs, such as checkpoints during high-risk holidays, which have considerably brought public awareness to this issue. Thus, if progress is being made, steps should be taken to continue that progress and not on unrealistic actions.
Although the good intentions of the NTSB are to be commended, the circumstances show that it is simply illogical to lower the BAC limit. Instead, resources should focus on enforcing existing and realistic efforts. For the new restriction to be established uniformly throughout the country, every state must approve it. Such efforts would take time and effort away from the multiple, effective programs already in place. After all, there is no use to establishing a new rule if the old one has not been successfully implemented. In this unique case, good intentions undermine logic.
- Center for Road Safety. (n.d.). Transport for NSW. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/
- Data. (n.d.). Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCSA
- Don’t lower blood alcohol content to .05%: Our view. (n.d.). USA TODAY: Latest World and US News – USATODAY.com. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www.usatoday.com/
- Ignition Interlock Devices. (n.d.). DMV. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www.dmv.ca.gov/
- MADD – State Report – Rating the States’ Drunk Driving Efforts . (n.d.). MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Driving . Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www.madd.org/
- Nelson, S. (2013, May 23). MADD Founder: Don’t Lower the Legal BAC Limit – US News and World Report. US News & World Report | News & Rankings | Best Colleges, Best Hospitals, and more. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www.usnews.com/
- Tennessee . (n.d.). Research | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov
