Washington Wants to Lower BAC Levels

Proposed Law to Keep Pressure on Drunken Drivers

As alcohol-related deaths stop decline, new tools sought

Saturday, Dec. 27, 1997 · Page A 8
©1997 San Francisco Examiner

By Judy Holland

EXAMINER WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Anti-drunken driving campaigns have helped reduce the number of alcohol-related fatalities 30 percent in the past 14 years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But in the past four years, the rate of alcohol-related fatalities has stopped declining, prompting lawmakers and safety groups to look for new ways to stop drinking-related crashes.

One approach is pending in Congress where Sens. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., have introduced legislation to encourage states to lower the drunken-driving threshold.

The legislation would require states that already haven't to change their drunken-driving laws to lower the blood alcohol content level from 0.1 percent to 0.08 percent within three years. States that fail to follow the federal rule would get docked 5 percent of their federal highway funds in the first year and 10 percent in the second year.

The legislation is expected to be attached early next year to a bill reauthorizing funding for the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act, which funds highway projects. The Clinton administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and many groups that campaign against drunken driving back the bill.

Even before Congress takes up the proposal, California and 14 other states already have lowered the legally acceptable blood alcohol level to 0.08 percent. The others are Utah, Oregon, Maine, Vermont, North Carolina, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, Hawaii, Alabama, Idaho and Illinois.

The campaign against drunken driving is credited with reducing alcohol-related traffic fatalities from 25,165 in 1982 to 17,126 in 1996. However, the rate has stayed essentially the same since 1992.

Brandy Anderson, assistant director of public policy for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the problem of driving drunk was far from solved.

"It will take a comprehensive effort, both legislation and better enforcement," Anderson said, adding that she expected a tough battle over the legislation.

"We expect the alcohol industry to fight this bill tooth and nail," she said. "They have a lot of power and money."

Toughening drunken-driving standards could save hundreds of lives each year, she contended.