Statement of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Response To President Clinton Endorsement of a National Uniform .08 Drunk Driving Law
4 March 1998
Statement of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Response To President Clinton Endorsement of a National Uniform .08 Drunk Driving Law
WASHINGTON, March 3 -- Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
issued the following statement today from its president, Judith Lee Stone, in
response to today's White House event in support of enactment of a national
uniform .08 percent blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) law:
"We are grateful to President Clinton for his crucial endorsement of a
national uniform .08 drunk driving standard for our country on the eve of the
expected U.S. Senate vote on this lifesaving legislation.
"There is a growing chorus of political leaders, safety and medical groups
and law enforcement agencies across America who agree that we must draw the
line against drunk driving at the point at which we know that everyone's safe
driving skills are dangerously impaired -- .08 BAC.
"Drunk driving is still the most frequently committed violent crime in our
country. Yet, 35 states still define drunk driving as .10 percent BAC -- the
most lenient definition of drunk driving in the industrialized world. Even
the big beer and wine producing and consuming countries of France, Italy,
England, Ireland and Germany define drunk driving at the .05 BAC and .08 BAC
levels.
"The time is long overdue for the United States to join the rest of our
allies in the Western World by drawing the line against drunk driving at .08
BAC. Only l5 states currently have .08 laws. For instance, Virginia has .08
but Maryland does not. It makes no sense for someone to be legally drunk in
one state but not in the other.
"The fact is, .08 is a lot of alcohol and a lot of impairment. The
average 170-pound male must consume four beers in just one hour on an empty
stomach to reach .08 BAC. The average 137-pound female requires three beers
in one hour to register at .08. If they have been eating, it takes even more
drinks to reach .08.
"Three or four beers in one hour and getting behind the wheel of a car is
not any responsible citizen's definition of casual social drinking. It's
dangerous, life threatening behavior that should finally count as a crime.
"It is also fact that thousands of Americans are killed or critically
injured in crashes involving drivers with BAC's below .10 every year. Almost
25 percent of all alcohol-related traffic fatalities are below the .10 level.
"Our nation cannot take a piecemeal approach to the drunk driving problem
by only focusing on one part of the problem. While we need laws with tough
sanctions to deter and punish repeat offenders, it is also essential that we
have in place the kind of policies that target potential drunk drivers and
first-time offenders.
"Hard-core drinking drivers didn't become repeat offenders overnight.
Repeat offenders, first-time offenders, and drivers at both high and low BAC
levels kill innocent people on our highways every day. Seven of every eight
alcohol-related fatal crashes involve a first time offender drunk driver.
"Public opinion is surely on our side. Two recent national public opinion
surveys showed that an overwhelming majority of the public supports .08. One
independent poll commissioned by Allstate showed that nearly 70 percent favor
passage of .08 laws. Another survey by the U.S. Department of Transportation
and the Ad Council showed that the American public supports .08 by a 2 to 1
margin.
"The Safe and Sober Streets Act would require all states to lower the
legal definition of drunk driving to a .08 BAC or risk losing a portion of
their federal highway construction funds. It is expected to be offered in the
Senate tomorrow as an amendment to the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act (ISTEA).
"ISTEA will authorize billions of taxpayer dollars on a nationwide highway
system where more than 40,000 people are killed and millions of others are
seriously injured year-in and year-out. We believe our government has a
legitimate role and responsibility to address this enormous and largely
preventable public health and safety problem on our highways.
"The federal .08 legislation is the same approach President Reagan
supported in 1984 when he signed the National Uniform Minimum Drinking Age law
requiring the states to enact 21 drinking age laws. Today, all states have 21
as the minimum drinking age, and an estimated 1,000 teen deaths have been
prevented each year since 1984.
"It is encouraging to see the growing number of Republican and Democratic
cosponsors of the federal .08 legislation who agree that it's not a partisan
issue. It's a life or death issue begging for common sense solutions like .08.
".08 is not about stopping people of legal age from drinking. It is about
setting sensible limits, saving lives and letting kids be kids -- not
memories.
"We know that .08 laws alone will not win the war on drunk driving, but
.08 is one essential weapon we need if we are going to finally win this war."
SOURCE Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
