Agency urges states to lower threshold for drunken driving

Wednesday, May 15, 2013  

The National Transportation Safety Board is urging states to lower the threshold for drunken driving.

The current threshold is a blood alcohol content of 0.08. The NTSB said lowering it to 0.05 will save lives.

“The research clearly shows that drivers with a BAC above 0.05 are impaired and at a significantly greater risk of being involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a press release.

The NTSB also urged states to use alcohol sensors at checkpoints, to require ignition interlocks for all drunken driving offenders and to implement administrative license suspension provisions.

Get the Story:
NTSB: Get tougher on drunken driving (The Washington Post 5/15)
States Urged to Cut Limit on Alcohol for Drivers (The New York Times 5/15)
US officials recommend lowering drunken driving threshold to .05 blood alcohol to save lives (AP 5/14)