Possible change to blood alcohol test limit puts drivers at risk
The Tennessee legal system already comes down hard on drunk driving suspects; now, if the federal government has anything to do with it, it and other states will take drinking and driving even more seriously.
The National Transportation Safety Board met today to have a conversation about blood alcohol concentration and whether current BAC laws are enough to prevent the dangers of drinking and driving. So far, the conversation is circling the point that the 0.08 limit used by most states is not strict enough.
The New York Times reports that the NTSB is discussing the idea of states lowering their BAC limits in DUI cases from 0.08 to 0.05. The difference of a drink or two can mean the difference of thousands more people being arrested for and charged with DWI.
Of course, states would need to adopt a change to their BAC limits, as they did about a decade ago at the recommendation of U.S. congress. The limit of 0.08 was not always a nationwide commonality. States decided to follow federal safety recommendations as a way to secure funding.
If the NTSB’s current conversation moves to an official recommendation, then action might follow. Tennessee’s lawmakers and government would have to decide whether the stricter DUI law is worth implementing on their own roadways.
In an effort to supposedly foster safer roadways, the risk would increase that able drivers would be charged with DWI. More people would find themselves fighting to protect their names and futures from a drunk driving. A DUI defense attorney is an important part of successfully doing that.
Source: The New York Times, “U.S. May Advise Lower Limit for Drunken Driving,” Matthew L. Wald, May 14, 2013