Should Texas Lower Its Legal Blood Alcohol Content Limit?

In December 2018, Utah became the first state (https://www.npr.org/2018/12/26/679833767/utah-first-in-the-nation-to-lower-its-dui-limit-to-05-percent) in the United States to enact a lower blood alcohol content (BAC) limit, a measure used to determine whether people are operating vehicles in impaired states. Utah's limit of 0.05 percent BAC is below the national standard of 0.08 percent. Now, some lawmakers in Texas want to follow Utah's lead.

A poll from the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute (https://www.tmc.edu/health-policy/programs/health-survey/) reported that 60 percent of respondents from Texas support legislation that would lower the legal BAC limit from the current 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. In fact, nearly half of respondents said they would support efforts that lowered the limit to 0.0 percent. This proposed measure would essentially expand the not drop laws (http://www.azariancriminaldefense.com/practice-areas/underage-dwi-not-drop-law/) that exist in some states for drivers under the age of twenty-one and extend such laws to drivers of all ages. Such laws are zero tolerance laws that do not allow people to have any alcohol or drugs in their systems while they are operating vehicles.

Some law enforcement representatives, such as Dustin Kennedy, a detective in Hudson Oaks, Texas, support the idea (https://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/news/local_news/texas-wants-to-lower-legal-blood-alcohol-limits-to/article_c143d408-b168-5b2a-8844-171ad9ba9660.html) of lowering the BAC limit. The representatives stated that lowering the legal limit will keep more drunk drivers off roads and prevent tragic alcohol-related accidents and deaths.

Others believe that lowered limits would still not be enough. Lance Arnold, police chief Weatherford, Texas and a former drug recognition expert instructor and standardized field sobriety test instructor (https://duijusticelink.aaa.com/issues/detection/standard-field-sobriety-test-sfst-and-admissibility/), pointed out that alcohol may impact people in different ways. He noted that he has seen people operating a vehicle while they were significantly impaired but only registered a BAC level of 0.04 percent. He has also seen others with higher BAC levels who were not visibly impaired. He and others say that the exact BAC number is not a surefire way to determine who is impaired and who is not, especially for people with high alcohol tolerance levels.

Chief Arnold noted that it is becoming increasingly common for drivers to be impaired by alcohol (https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/blog/is-alcohol-a-drug/) and other substances, such as prescription pain medicine. Even if drivers may register lower BAC levels, if they have both alcohol and drugs in their systems, they may experience high levels of impairment.

Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/texas-barn-metal-ranch-farm-1584104/

BAC Levels and Traffic Accidents:

An interesting study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29064571) highlighted the dangers of drinking and driving. Researchers found that lowering BAC limits from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent (the current national standard), led to a five percent decline in nonfatal drunk driving crashes and a nine percent reduction in fatal alcohol-related crashes. Places, where the limit was lowered to 0.05 percent or lower, experienced an 11 percent decline in fatal crashes.

From these results, the authors concluded that nearly 1,800 lives could be saved each year if the United States adopted a national 0.05 percent BAC limit. Both the American Medical Association (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4448946/) and the British Medical Association support these conclusions.

Lower proposed limits have not received unanimous support. Some bar and restaurant owners point out that a 0.05 percent BAC level can be reached with four drinks for the average man, while the average female may only consume one or two drinks before reaching a 0.05 percent BAC level. Still, the proposal does have high levels of support.

No legislation has been drafted with the new proposed limits, but lawmakers estimate that work regarding such a proposal may occur in the future. While it may take time for legislators to pass such a bill into law, if it even reaches that stage, advocates of the lower BAC limits are hopeful that the discussion helps propel efforts to lower the rates of alcohol-related crashes and deaths in Texas. Currently, there are around 950 fatal alcohol-related crashes (http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trf/crash_statistics/2017/34.pdf) annually in Texas, resulting in over 1,000 preventable deaths (http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trf/crash_statistics/2017/37.pdf) each year.

Regardless of the new levels, the safest option is to call for a ride if you've been drinking. For some people, even one drink can lead to intoxication. Any level of impairment can produce catastrophic results behind the wheel. While Texas might lower its legal limit, there is no safe drinking limit when it comes to drinking and driving. If you or someone you know think that they may have a drinking problem, it is important to seek help in Texas (https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/texas-rehab-centers/) rather than taking risks on the road.

Written by Charles Watson (https://twitter.com/charleswatson00). If you feel this article was interesting, please share it on your social media.