State Drinking Laws – Trying to Prevent Drunk Driving
Posted By turbo266 on February 19, 2011
State Drinking Laws – Trying to Prevent Drunk Driving
We all know that the consequences of getting caught driving after consuming too much alcohol can be severe, yet many still do it. A few decades ago, driving under the influence of alcohol was often considered an offense that simply deserved a warning by the police on the first occasion of getting caught. Today however, after many lives have been lost, impaired driving is being taken much more seriously by lawmakers and the courts.
Up until recently, many States in the US had different legal limits for blood alcohol concentration (BAC). For example, Montana’s limit was 0.100 (100 mg) while other States had a lower limit of 0.08 (80 mg). In 2000, the US Congress passed a bill which virtually forced all States to reduce the legal alcohol limit to 0.08 by 2004. Although Congress could not legally force the individual States to adopt the lower limit, the bill that was passed would remove 2% of highway construction funding from the Federal Government in 2004, 4% in 2005, with increasing funding losses until 2007 when a State could lose 8 percent of it’s funding if they did not lower the limit.
Faced with this loss of funding, all States eventually lowered the per se legal alcohol limit when driving to 0.08. And since then, many States have either increased penalties for a DUI including fines, jail time, and license suspensions or are considering more severe punishment for all first and subsequent offences.
Further, many States have even introduced lower alcohol limits for younger drivers, and those who are driving while on duty at work.
Yet driving under the influence of alcohol continues. In the States of South Dakota and Wisconsin, the rate of driving while impaired is over a whopping 20% according to a 2008 study carried out by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
So why is it that even with increased penalties including severe fines, risk of massive vehicle insurance increases, and the lawmakers in the various States coming down hard on those who drink and drive, does the practice of impaired driving continue?
Perhaps it is because of one of the many myths about drinking and driving that still pervade our society. One of the greatest of these myths is that it is safe to pace oneself while drinking before driving. Many still believe that one drink and hour will keep them under the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration and that they won’t blow over into an alcohol breath machine. Unfortunately, this “rule of thumb” is incorrect. There are many different factors that determine how a person’s body processes and eliminates alcohol. The rule of thumb about one drink per hour is one of the biggest myths and yet is believed by so many.
So how can you know if you are over the legal limit or not? Read my story about the night I crashed into a house and what I could have done to know whether I was over the legal alcohol limit. This might not only save you thousands in fines and penalties, but could also save your life and help prevent you from driving impaired.
Wayne runs his own successful business in Canada. He has become an authority on DUI laws after making a huge mistake – driving one evening after a few drinks. As the result of an impaired driving charge, Wayne was motivated to learn more about alcohol and driving and ways to help others learn about the effects of even just one drink on driving and what can be done to prevent dui.
Article from articlesbase.com
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