NCJ Number
155973
Date Published
1994
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This policy brief describes a proposal to lower from 0.10 to 0.08 the legal limit for a driver's alcohol concentration (AC), and examines several fundamental questions pertaining to the proposal.
Abstract
The proposal to lower the alcohol concentration limit is examined in regard to the following questions: (1) How many drinks does it take to reach 0.08 AC? (2) Can a person accurately judge his or her own AC level? (3) Why the trend to lower the legal limit? (4) At what level of AC do drivers actually become impaired (laboratory and epidemiological studies, summary of the empirical research)? (5) Would it be difficult to detect drivers between 0.08 and 0.10? (6) Would current alcohol measurement techniques work with a 0.08 limit? (7) Are existing enforcement and court resources sufficient to implement 0.08? (8) Would a 0.08 limit divert enforcement resources? (9) How many crashes, injuries and fatalities would be averted with a 0.08 limit? (10) Would drivers adapt to the 0.08 by drinking less? and (11) Would the public accept the lower legal limit? Tables, notes