Lowering the Legal BAC Limit to .05 and What it Could Mean for California Residents
Lawmakers in California are considering lowering the legal blood alcohol content from the current 0.08 to 0.05 in a bid to make its roads safer for everyone. This bill (AB 1713) was proposed by Autumn Burke, Inglewood assemblywoman in February this year saying the new law could save up to one thousand five hundred (1,500) lives per year. Liam’s Law was named after a fifteen-month-old boy who was killed by a drunk driver, Donna Marie Higgins, in September 2016. Higgins drove through a crosswalk and hit the toddler and severely injured his teenage aunt, who was caring for him at the time.
After fleeing the scene and later being apprehended, Higgins’ blood alcohol level was 0.12 with a breath test which was way above the legal limit of 0.08% and her blood test returned 0.09% alcohol content. After roaming free for eleven (11) months pending trial, Higgins was charged with a single felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. After making a plea deal, she was sentenced to six (6) years in prison.
The grieving parents – Marcus Kowal and Mishel Eder – are now advocating for safer roads through Liam’s Life, a foundation which helps victims of drunk driving and their families to get their life back on track. The foundation promotes self-driving cars and laws requiring using ignition interlock devices (IIDs) after being charged with drunk driving. IIDs are breath alcohol analyzers connected to the car’s ignition system to bar drivers from proceeding if they are deemed unfit to drive. The foundation is also pushing for organ donation as they did with Liam’s organs.
How to Measure a BAC of 0.05%?
This unfortunate incident marked a turning point in California’s BAC limit, and other states have adopted similar measures to reduce the legal BAC limit with Utah being the first state to implement a legal BAC limit of 0.05. More jurisdictions are expected to follow this new guideline by year’s end.
Health experts warn one does not have to consume plenty of alcohol to hit the proposed strict standard; some people could reach this limit after just one drink. Gender, duration of drinking, and weight are all factors that play a role in how the body responds to any amounts of alcohol. As per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a woman weighing one hundred and sixty (160) pounds or less can hit this limit after taking one drink. A woman weighing one hundred (100) pounds consuming standard alcohol within a span of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minutes is likely to register a BAC of 0.04% while a typical-sized woman would need two (2) bottles to reach 0.05%
A man weighing less than two hundred (200) pounds should not take more than two (2) drinks, or they risk hitting this proposed legal limit while a typical-sized man would need three (3) bottles to reach 0.05%. As well, the size or amount of liquor consumed matters and how quickly you drink it before operating a vehicle. Drivers deliberating on how much alcohol to consume are advised to gauge their possible blood alcohol limit inside one (1) hour of drinking using this chart.
There is strong evidence indicating having a blood alcohol limit of 0.05% indeed saves lives going as far as reducing deaths by ten (10%) percent year on year. Seeing the rising carnage of our roads in California and across the country, any measure that curtails preventable deaths are welcome. Bear in mind that nearly half of people who perish in road traffic accidents involving alcohol are not the drinking driver – such as the harrowing case of Liam Kowal. Therefore, it is incumbent on everyone to embrace safety not just for our sake but for other innocent lives too.
What will the Proposed Bill AB 1713 Achieve?
To start with, Assembly Bill 1713 will change the current law stipulating drivers cannot get behind the wheel when they have 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in their blood to 0.05% or more, by body mass, of alcohol in their system. This summation means people who choose to drive after consuming alcohol must ensure they don’t go above the new legal limit or they risk being charged with a DUI offense – leading to more criminal convictions and costs for the defendant such as hiring a DUI Lawyer.
There are presently over one hundred (100) nations whose acceptable blood alcohol limit before someone is charged with a crime is 0.05% or less. The Global Health Observatory data repository outlines the BAC limit for various countries where applicable: Canada has 0.15%, Japan 0.03%, India 0.03%, New Zealand 0.05%, and Hong Kong 0.05%. Some countries like Germany and Australia don’t allow any instance of drunken driving for beginners who have less than two (2) years’ experience on the road and for persons under twenty-one (21). Most countries in Europe, such as France, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, and Austria, have a BAC limit of 0.05%. Looking at this data, the US adopting a threshold of 0.05% is not bad after all.
Road Traffic Deaths: Sweden vs. the United States
Liam’s parents (discussed above) hope the legal BAC limit can eventually be reduced to 0.02 as they do in Sweden from where the departed toddler’s father hails. He noted the drinking culture is laxer, and it is common to find people with multiple DUIs in the US, whereas drinking and driving are looked down upon in Sweden and perpetrators are met with harsher consequences.
The World Health Organization notes Sweden has the second-fewest traffic fatalities standing at a rate of 2.8 deaths for every one hundred (100,000) thousand people as of 2015 data. As of 2012, alcohol accounts for thirty-one (31%) of road accidents nationwide, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System found. On the other hand, the Swedish Transport Administration noted that nineteen (19%) percent of road traffic fatalities were alcohol-related. This difference proves that lowering the BAC legal limit is direly needed to control the carnage on our roads.
Reducing the BAC Limit Saves Lives
Across the US, one (1) person dies every forty-nine (49) minutes due to road traffic accidents involving alcohol, which is shocking by any standard. The National Transportation Safety Board recommends 0.05% to reduce the one thousand (1,000) DUI-related fatalities and twenty thousand (20,000) injuries reported in California every year. According to the Vital Signs report released by the CDC in 2016, there were upwards of thirty-two thousand (32,000) deaths due to car crashes in 2013 and two (2) million incurred injuries as a result. The CDC attributes these deaths to alcohol-impaired driving, speeding, not fastening safety belts, or failing to use car seats or booster seats for young children.
This dossier used synthesized data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Health Organization. When measured against comparable countries, the US was deduced to have the highest number of automobile crash fatalities for every one hundred thousand (100,000) people, and every ten thousand (10,000) registered automobiles. One of the critical drivers of these poor scores was a failure by US drivers to buckle up with eighty-seven (87%) percent front-seat use while countries like France had ninety-nine (99%) percent adherence to front seat belt use. Austria had the lowest adherence standing at eighty-six (86%) percent just below the US score.
The CDC notes that drivers who register 0.05% of alcohol content are measurably weakened and have diminished coordination, their ability to track moving objects is impaired, and they find it difficult to steer the vehicle. At this legal limit, impaired drivers also have declined response to emergency driving situations such as the sudden appearance by a deer. These facts make passing and upholding this bill a top priority for California and elsewhere.
Liam’s Law comes after the enactment of Senate Bill 545 that requires people who are convicted of driving under the influence to install an ignition interlock device (IID). Only first-time DUI offenders who are not involved in injury crashes are exempted from having an IID for a stipulated period, Capital Public Radio reports. The twenty-six (26) states enacting mandatory laws on IIDs have recorded a 7% decline in alcohol-related road fatalities.
Not Everyone Agrees AB 1713 Will Save Lives
Law enforcement in places like San Luis Obispo that had four hundred forty (440) DUIs in 2018 alone says lowering BAC levels will not make a huge difference. Additionally, some believe the lower limit will give rise to criminal convictions and will make the defense of a DUI Lawyer more difficult, leading to more citizens with criminal convictions. Therefore, rather than saving lives, it may ruin the lives of those with a criminal record. Without the lower limit, Officers will still be on the lookout for unsteady driving along lanes, running red lights, and all sorts of indicators for possible driving while intoxicated. In the same manner, the American Beverage Institute is not convinced that a lower BAC will save lives as this law will criminalize sensible and responsible drinking. In a press statement in February 2019, ABI claimed law enforcement would start targeting even people who are not meaningfully impaired.
To illustrate this point, a woman who weighs one hundred twenty (120 lbs.) pounds could easily register blood alcohol content of 0.05% even if she has not taken too much alcohol. ABI went on to say while this new bill was formulated with the best intentions; it would divert efforts and resources from the real culprits. Drivers who register high levels of BAC and repeat offenders are responsible for the majority of road traffic deaths across the country with ninety-two (92%) percent of these accidents involving 0.10% BAC or higher.
ABI’s mischaracterization attacks a widely used study on alcohol-impaired driving by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. ABI contends the study failed to use a control group, but the lead scientist, Jim Fell disputed these claims. What’s more, many scientific journals went on to publish these findings deeming them useful for future studies on the effects of alcohol on drivers. ABI’s comments are feeble attempts to sway public opinion while obscuring their real aims, which is safeguarding their bottom lines.
In California alone, the average alcohol limits for drivers involved in these crashes is 0.18%, which goes to show the state has more significant problems with heavy drinkers than moderate drinkers. In the end, ABI said this proposed bill is an onslaught on the restaurant and hospitality industry on the whole, and responsible customers will now be penalized.
While critics say this proposed limit is too stringent, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says this legal limit should be 0.05% as per a new study released in January 2018. After decades of progress, cases of alcohol-impaired driving have skyrocketed, thus making it an unrelenting public health and safety problem. The academy noted that every instance of drunken driving denotes systematic failures and accelerating change would require a synchronized, methodical, multi-level approach of related sectors.
In its groundbreaking report “Getting to Zero Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities: A Comprehensive Approach to a Persistent Problem,” the academy outlines ways of combating this scourge. Apart from revitalizing public and policymaker focus on this gnawing issue, it lists ways of enhancing existing interventions, so they are more effective in preventing DUIs. Dr. Tim Naimi, who is among the authors, noted false impressions surrounding drunken driving, and they have contributed to the harsh critiquing of AB 1713. For instance, young people may assume drunk driving has come and gone, but this couldn’t be far from the truth; DUIs remain the most lethal and costliest menace on roads today.
What are Other Methods of Combating Drunk Driving?
Apart from the proposed AB 1713 bill, the government is keen to pursue measures to control incidences of drunk drivers getting behind the wheel and causing accidents. It is unlawful to sell alcohol to a patron who is already inebriated, but this law is barely enforced as establishments place racking in profits over policing customers. Revisiting raising taxes on alcohol is vital as research shows a strong correlation between higher prices of alcohol to reduced binge drinking and accompanying driving crashes.
Existing laws on alcohol taxes are not very useful after factoring in inflation, and last year, Congress passed a bill to reduce federal alcohol taxes by roughly sixteen (16%) percent. Such efforts are counterproductive as they erode many gains made from making alcohol less affordable, especially for teens and young adults who are more prone to such habits. Introducing more sobriety checkpoints on roads and highways is expedient, then launch relevant mass education programs.
Curbing marketing and advertising efforts at national, state, and local levels is a great move coupled with countering these messages by illustrations of the perils of drunken driving for teens, young adults, and older people. Leaving things to chance inadvertently allows the self-regulating alcohol industry to aggressively market their products, knowing too well that voluntary standards are ambiguous and permissive.
While putting drunk drivers like Donna Marie Higgins is a befitting punishment, states should also consider having special courts that pursue a modification of such behaviors through comprehensive monitoring and treatment for substance abuse. Promoting the availability of ride-sharing apps like Uber, Lyft, RideScout, Zimride, and several others helps keep intoxicated drivers off the roads as they have safer options on their fingertips.
In the end, countries with a blood alcohol content limit of 0.05%, such as Austria, Japan, and Denmark have succeeded in reducing the number of road traffic deaths. The US has a bad reputation for being the world leader in traffic deaths and shaking this repute calls for ruthless measures at national, state, and local jurisdictions. Zero tolerance laws will thwart drivers under twenty-one (21) from driving with any measurable levels of alcohol. Anyone caught contravening these laws will face the corresponding DUI penalties and assessments. All the more, those charged with DUI will need a stronger defense and an expert DUI Lawyer if the limit is lowered.