ABI Calls Links Between Princess Diana and Drunk Driving Law 'Exploitive and Illogical'
4 September 1997
ABI Calls Links Between Princess Diana and Drunk Driving Law 'Exploitive and Illogical'WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 -- The attempt by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NJ) to link the tragic death of Princess Diana to the proposal to lower the drunk driving arrest threshold is both "exploitive and illogical," said Rick Berman, general counsel of the American Beverage Institute (ABI). "The tragedy of Princess Diana's death exposes the idiocy of the proposal to lower the arrest threshold to .08% BAC (blood-alcohol concentration)," said Mr. Berman. "As the world now knows, Princess Diana was killed by a drunk driver. Not a social drinker * but an alcohol abuser who was behind the wheel despite being at nearly 400% of the arrest level for drunk driving. If France's tough DWI laws were unable to prevent this tragedy, why should we expect similar legislation to work here?" Research by the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that nearly two- thirds of all alcohol related fatalities involve BACs of .14% or higher. Even MADD President Katherine Prescott told The New York Times, the drunk driving problem "may be down to a hard core of alcoholics who do not respond to public appeals." "We know that the problem is the alcohol abuser who drives," said Berman said. "What we don't know is why Sen. Lautenberg and Rep. Lowey are ignoring that and instead are targeting outlaw social drinking." According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the proposed .08% BAC standard would make it illegal for a 120-lb. woman to drive after drinking just two six-ounce glasses of wine over two hours. SOURCE American Beverage Institute