Key words: drunk driving, blood alcohol limit, interlocks.
Lee, Kurtis. “Utah Getting Tougher on Drinking.” Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar, 2017, pp. A.14, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
According to this article, the state of Utah has lowered its standard of legal blood alcohol concentration to 0.5%. This would make Utah the first state to adopt the 0.5% standard while other nations adopt the 0.8% limit. The state of Utah believe that blood-alcohol limit is a matter of public safety. In a report in 2003, in Queensland and New South Wales, the fatal crashes decreased 18% and 8 respectively after they adopted the more stringent standard regard of the blood limit. The fatal crashes in related with the drunk driving in the state of Utah is severe. The number of death related with it almost doubled, from 23 in 2013 and 45 in 2014, when the situation on a national level is alleviated, with a third decrease in the last three decades. There are people who are object to lowing the standard, most of them think that it would hurt the state’s tourism industry and the standard is so low that it would put people in jail who should not be there. While, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the blood alcohol concentration of 0.5% would cause altered coordination, less precise to capture moving tracks. And there are countries in Europe have adopted the 0.5% limit for alcohol concentration, like France and Germany.
Cohn, Meredith. “Study: Interlocks After First Offense Save Lives.” Baltimore Sun, 05 Jan, 2017, pp. A.3, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
Maryland has adopted the law requiring everyone convicted of driving to path a breath test before driving in an effort to reduce the fatal car accidents. Maryland is the 28th state to enact this law. According to a Johns Hopkins study published in the American Journal of Prevention Medicine, such interlock devices could save more people from fatal car crashes, and it found 7 percent drop in fatalities when requiring everyone convicted of drunk driving to install such interlock, which means there are 1250 less crash fatalities in related with alcohol driving, compared to 2% drop only requiring the repeated offenders or with high levels of alcohol to install with such interlock. Some groups are opposed such law enforcement, argues that this could be a burden for people and expensive, including the American Beverage Institute. Advocates for such law do not think it will be burdensome and deems that drunken driving is a major U.S killer. And this law do not limit the freedom of the driver, just to make sure they are sober. Also, 7% drop is significant.
Botelho, Greg. “NTSB Calls for Lowering Blood Alcohol Limit, but is that the Answer?” CNN Wire Service, 05 Feb, 2016, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
According to this article, The National Transportation Safety Board is trying to recommend the state to lowering the blood alcohol limit to 0.05, and it is one of the steps to end fatal crashes in transportation among others, include “increased use of high-visibility enforcement”. The National Transportation Safety Board believes that, with other effort they are making, they could save people live a lot and eliminate drunk driving by lowing the blood alcohol limit. The vice chairwoman of The National Transportation Safety Board, Bella Dinh-Zarr expressed that from the experience and study of other countries which have adopted the lower standard, the 0.05 limit could save lives. Lowering the bar should be count as one the combat drunken driving. Studies shows that compared to people with no alcohol in their blood, the people who have alcohol at the level of 0.05 to 0.08 will be three times more to be in a car crash. The law will make people to have no choice when considering how much they will drink. Drunk driving is a major killer in U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one person dead because of drunk driving every 51 minute, which amounts to 10000 death one year, accounts for one third of death related with traffic, and among which, 17% are young children below 14. Many bar owners are not in favor of such measure, they think the government has gone too far to in lowering the blood alcohol limit. While, 63% of the drivers support the measure, according to a 2014 AAA survey.
Marimow, Ann E. “Supreme Court Ruling Requires Warrants for DUI Blood Tests.” Washington Post, 24 Jun, 2016, pp. A.9, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
According to the article, the Supreme Court expressed that police can only require a suspected drunk driver to do a blood test after obtaining a warrant. The court is trying to find a middle ground between eliminating the drunk driving and personal privacy according to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. This decision means that people could get arrested for refusing a breath test but not a blood test. In its opinion, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said that “The impact of breath tests on privacy is light, and the need for BAC [blood alcohol content] testing is great,”
Longwell, Sarah. “Reserve Interlocks for the Hard Core.” USA TODAY, 31 May, 2013, pp. A.8, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
This articles looks into how the mandating ignition interlocks for all offenders is not a good approach to get the drunks off the road, and reveals that the interlocks should be reserved for the hard core. It argues that the installment of such interlock is expensive and intrusive. Also mandating ignition interlocks is a one size fits all approach to deal with the driving problem, which will eliminate the distinctions of the drivers with different amount of alcohol consumptions. Compare to speeding law, you don’t punish the person driving past the limit 5 miles the same way as you punish the person who drive 40 miles pass the lime. And, mandating the ignition interlocks for all offenders will shift our attention from ensuring the hard core offenders complying with the law. Spreading the effort would make the it hard to manage the hardcore offenders, who are the most likely to cause accidents.