FEDS WANT TO LOWER ALCOHOL LIMIT

Feds Want to Lower
Alcohol Limit



Since I quit drinking years ago; I am no longer
personally concerned with the DUI limit in Georgia. I do not have an opinion on
what the per se limit in Georgia should be. 
 However, from a professional
standpoint, I am concerned with DUI limits because many of my clients face
charges stemming from being accused of DUI. As you probably already know, I am also
a staunch advocate for state sovereignty. 

Possible changes to
DUI limits by way of blood alcohol content (BAC) thresholds and abuse of
federal power may be coming our way soon.

In Georgia, most
people know that the per se alcohol limit when operating a motor vehicle is .08 percent. I can
actually remember when it was .10 years
ago. Those laws were passed by the people of Georgia through our representatives in the General Assembly
and signed by the Governor.

Well, it seems that
now the federal government wants to get involved with DUI limits throughout the states. The National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has
recently recommended that all of the states should lower the threshold of drinking and driving to a BAC
of no more than .05 percent.  The
federal agency believes that the U.S. is too
tolerant of "drunk driving."  According to the NTSB, the probability of
having an automobile accident when the
driver has a blood alcohol content of .05 is half what it is at .08.  The NTSB also claims that one
third of U.S. traffic deaths are related to alcohol.  I have not seen the research to support this
and have no opinion on its accuracy. 

Citing other
countries, particularly Europe, the NTSB says that the U.S. is
"behind" these foreign nations by having a threshold for drinking and
driving of .08 in all 50 U.S. states. While the NTSB is just an advisory body with no
authority to make laws or regulations, it
does issue recommendations to states and U.S. agencies.

However, when the
federal government wishes to encroach on the rights of the states, it will do so.  In the past,
Congress has forced NTSB recommendations on the states by requiring their adoption or risk losing all federal
highway funds.   (Maximum speed limits established throughout
the states are a well-known example.)

It is interesting to
note that when it comes to calculating how much alcohol will affect your BAC, it
is very difficult to judge.  But, in
general, the difference between .08 and .05 is one to two mixed drinks, glasses of wine or
12-ounce beers over three hours. Much of the
variation depends on gender and body
size. For example, according to data
charts prepared by Johns Hopkins University's
Center for Health Education and Wellness, a 180-pound man could consume four drinks in three hours before reaching
.05.   A 140-pound woman could have three
drinks over the same time period.

As I have mentioned
in prior columns, it is always best to simply not consume any amount of alcohol
before driving.  That solves all
potential problems with DUI – alcohol accusations.  However, if there are significant changes in
Georgia’s DUI laws, such as lowering the per se limit, those changes need to
come from the Georgia General Assembly and the Governor. 

Washington needs to
focus on its own problems.  Right now, they
are almost too numerous to count.