Federal lawmakers are being urged to lower the blood alcohol limit for drivers under a potential new bill intending to curb the rising trend in drunk-driving deaths.
Campaigners are pushing for the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit to be pushed down to 0.05 from 0.08, citing the rising fatalities due to drink-driving incidents.
Some 37 people each day die in crashes as a result of alcohol intoxication in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—or around one person every 39 minutes.
According to the latest figures, 13,524 people died as a result of alcohol-impaired driving incidents in 2022, an increase of 14 percent on the previous year. Supporters of a new law to lower the alcohol limit say it would help reverse the trend of rising drunk-driving deaths.
Advocates of the change took to the Capitol on Wednesday to encourage lawmakers to consider their proposal.
“Let me be clear—.05 saves lives,” National Transportation Safety Board Leah Walton said, reported by NBC Connecticut.
The new bill proposes to create a “driving while ability-impaired” offense for drivers with a BAC above 0.05 and lower than 0.08—rather than changing the current existing limit of 0.08.
Drivers caught below the 0.08 threshold would not face criminal charges but would instead have their licence suspended for 45 days and would potentially face other penalties at the same time.
It comes after the Hawaii state Senate passed a bill to lower the legal blood alcohol limit to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent in March. This then failed to pass through the lower chamber and will likely not be reconsidered until next year.
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Washington state lawmakers were considering a similar bill earlier this year, making it to the committee stage. The proposal to lower the BAC was later set aside.
Utah has successfully adopted the lower limit, however, making it one of the few states with a BAC limit below 0.08.
Democrats and Republicans both appear to be somewhat split on the issue within their parties, with many preferring to make the change a state issue rather than a federal one.
Detractors of potential new legislation also say it will create an additional burden for law enforcement and could potentially lead to responsible drinkers being penalized for having two or three drinks.
Others believe the change would go a long way to making roads safer and decreasing the rising death toll as a result of alcohol intoxication. They also highlight the lower limit is already in place in other parts of the world, including many European countries.
Newsweek approached the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.