Should DUI Threshold Be Lowered To .05 BAC?

[dales]

DUI alcohol level should be lowered to .05, feds say
By Joan Lowy


Associated PressAssociated Press

Posted: 05/14/2013 09:33:05 AM PDT
May 14, 2013 4:35 PM GMTUpdated: 05/14/2013 09:33:08 AM PDT


WASHINGTON -- Federal accident investigators recommended Tuesday that states cut their threshold for drunken driving by nearly half, matching a standard that has substantially reduced highway deaths in other countries.

The National Transportation Safety Board said states should shrink the standard from the current .08 blood alcohol content to .05 as part of a series of recommendations aimed at reducing alcohol-related highway deaths.

More than 100 countries have adopted the .05 alcohol content standard or lower, according to a report by the board's staff. In Europe, the share of traffic deaths attributable to drunken driving was reduced by more than half within 10 years after the standard was dropped.

[Big RR]

While I accept that any reduction in the DUI level might result in a lower number of persons who drive at any level (including those considerably above that level--hence the drop in traffic deaths mentioned in the article), I do question whether driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 % would present any real hazard or impairment to a driver. Absent this, I could not support punishing people having such a low level BAL.

[dales]

I've only given this poll 1 day so I bumped it up to the top.

[Sean]

A BAL of 0.05 would impair some people Big RR... Laws like this have to legislate for everyone.

[dales]

Not everyone in the US.

The DOT requires .04 BAC for commercial drivers.

[Long Run]

There should be an independent study to see if it is the lower BAL that causes the reduced accidents, as opposed to stricter DUI laws, social norms, etc. I am leery of trusting anyone in the transportation industry who generally urge every safety precaution under the sun (low speeds, photo radar, etc.), costs not being a factor. The DUI industry is certainly happy to see this recommendation; should be good for business.

[Crackpot]

A BAL of 0.05 would impair some people Big RR... Laws like this have to legislate for everyone.

The use of cell phones (even hands free) has been shown to impair the average driver more than a blood alcohol of .08 yet that is legal and where it's not it is punished nowhere near as seriously as impaired (by alcohol) driving.

BTW the used that same argument when they dropped it from 0.12.

[rubato]

A std anywhere in the range of 0.05 to 0.08 is defensible based on a very large data set. Impairment is measurable starting at 0.01 g/dl and is significant by 0.05g/dl. Many countries use the 0.05 std.

It would limit most women to 1 drink per hour and most men to something between 1 and 2 if they are going to drive.

http://www.safety-devices.com/bac_chart.htm

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

Laws regarding texting while driving and using cell phones are evolving rapidly as we gain experience with them. Cell phones are relatively new things, compared to alcohol, and it will take time to understand how to integrate them into society.

yrs,
rubato

[dales]

and it will take time to understand how to integrate them [cellphones] into society.

Hopefully via someone's rectum.

[Crackpot]

Lower the bar for severe punishments for BAC but cell phone use which has shown to cause impairment on the level of twice the proposed legal "drunk" driving limit need more study.

THat's rubato logic for you.

Fact is everything you do while driving (including extended driving) measurably impairs driving. The question is how much impairment is reasonable. and like it or not since there is no way to reliably gauge ones impairment from alcohol there should be some leeway for error. 0.08 seems to be a (mostly) reasonable standard that covers the majority of people at the 1 drink per hour limit. After you add up the fines legal fees and possible jail time for "impaired" driving when compared to other legal and mostly legal driving activities that in some cases far exceed that level of impairment there is no other way to look at it than completely unjust.

[Lord Jim]

A std anywhere in the range of 0.05 to 0.08 is defensible based on a very large data set. Impairment is measurable starting at 0.01 g/dl and is significant by 0.05g/dl. Many countries use the 0.05 std.

It would limit most women to 1 drink per hour and most men to something between 1 and 2 if they are going to drive.

http://www.safety-devices.com/bac_chart.htm

yrs,
rubato

Say rube, if you want anyone here to take you seriously as someone knowledgeable in chemical science, why don't you go back and respond to this :

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9005&p=116746&hilit ... ng#p116746

[oldr_n_wsr]

Years ago, when I was drinking at HH every day I had the idea that people should go get tested for their own personal "alcohol limit". Take a driving test and drink til you fail. The amount you drank before you failed was your personal alcohol limit. Put it on your license that you can legally drive at x.x.
the musings of an alcoholic

But then again, there are plenty of sober people who shouldn't be driving.

[rubato]

Lower the bar for severe punishments for BAC but cell phone use which has shown to cause impairment on the level of twice the proposed legal "drunk" driving limit need more study.

THat's rubato logic for you.

Fact is everything you do while driving (including extended driving) measurably impairs driving. The question is how much impairment is reasonable. and like it or not since there is no way to reliably gauge ones impairment from alcohol there should be some leeway for error. 0.08 seems to be a (mostly) reasonable standard that covers the majority of people at the 1 drink per hour limit. After you add up the fines legal fees and possible jail time for "impaired" driving when compared to other legal and mostly legal driving activities that in some cases far exceed that level of impairment there is no other way to look at it than completely unjust.

No connection with what I actually said. But why expect coherence?


yrs,
rubato