State made right move in tightening DUI law
Close to 18,000 people are killed in the United States each year in alcohol-related crashes. Another half million are injured. And the sobering reality is those numbers have risen each year for the last three years.
That’s why the state’s tougher DUI law is reason to celebrate – provided no one climbs behind the wheel after too much celebration. The new law, which went into effect yesterday, lowers the intoxication level for impaired drivers from .10 to .08.
It’s not much of a drop, but statistics show the tougher standards will save a considerable number of lives. Since that’s the case, we have to wonder why state lawmakers waited until last call to enact such a measure. Legislators acted somewhat reluctantly and only under heavy pressure from the federal government, which would have withheld $7.8 million in highway funds had Tennessee not complied this year.
It’s a shame it took dollar bills for our lawmakers to see clearly. When around one-third of all traffic fatalities are alcohol-related, it’s easy to see the argument that one-third of all traffic fatalities could have likely been avoided.
Tennessee’s decision to ultimately lower the blood alcohol limit received rave reviews from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. That’s expected considering the organization lists its mission as stopping drunk driving. Considering it’s been proven that drunk driving claims thousands of lives annually, there’s no reason not to fight to stamp it out.
As we speed toward the Fourth of July holiday, we can only hope to avoid what was a disastrous Fourth of July in 2001 when alcohol-related crashes killed 127 people nationwide.
Lowering the legal alcohol limit will by no means be a cure all – and some people will drink and drive regardless of what the law says – but it will serve as a deterrent to some. The Tennessee Department of Transportation points to facts which indicate states that have passed a .08 law have seen a 6 to 8 percent reduction in alcohol-related traffic deaths. MADD claims states have seen a 4 to 40 percent drop when enacting the .08 standard.
It’s also important to note the new law does not infringe on personal freedom. MADD says the perception that the .08 level is equal to one beer is not correct. The organization says a 175-pound man would have to drink four beers in one hour, on an empty stomach, to register in the neighborhood of .08.
Certainly alcohol affects each individual differently, but it’s unlikely that many of us would like to meet a motorist who had just slammed four beers in a hour.
Drinking and driving is one of this nation’s greatest enemies. Each and every day in this country a drunk driver ends someone’s life. A drunk driver shatters a family. A drunk driver takes away a loving mother, a cherished child.
Anything state lawmakers can do to slow this epidemic is worthwhile. The new .08 limit not only makes perfect sense, it’s long overdue.