Washington bill would lower legal blood alcohol level limit

“Our roads aren’t as secure as they need to be, and they’re undoubtedly not as secure as they might be,” Lovick mentioned. “I see driving habits that’s past something I might have imagined after I began as a state trooper over 40 years in the past … It is rather clear to me that drunk driving is impacting the security of our communities, and it’s time that we do one thing.”

Throughout the nation and presently in Washington, the authorized blood alcohol content material restrict for many drivers is 0.08%, however limits fluctuate by state for industrial drivers or drivers with previous DUI convictions.

Josh McDonald, govt director of the Washington Wine Institute, spoke in opposition to the invoice this week, saying a change to 0.05% blood alcohol content material might flip a “cheap, fashionable consumption expertise, for each the client and vineyard, into a really severe concern,” KUOW reported.

Washington is the second-largest wine producing state with greater than 1,000 wineries, in accordance with the Washington State Wine Fee.

Julia Gorton, with the Washington Hospitality Affiliation, additionally spoke in opposition to the proposed change, arguing that there’s “no discernable option to acknowledge indicators of intoxication” on the 0.05% degree.

Utah’s Legislature voted in 2017 to lower the authorized restrict to 0.05% regardless of related issues. Because it went into impact, the variety of crashes and fatalities have fallen despite the fact that drivers logged extra miles, in accordance with analysis printed final yr by the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration.

The Nationwide Transportation Security Board advisable final yr that each one new automobiles within the U.S. be geared up with blood alcohol content material monitoring programs that may cease an intoxicated individual from driving, saying alcohol-related crashes have been one of many greatest causes of freeway deaths. The company inspired states a decade in the past to drop their blood alcohol content material ranges to 0.05%.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signaled his help for the invoice Thursday, saying he’s satisfied the change would trigger individuals to reasonable their ingesting and driving habits.

The invoice, which can be sponsored by a few dozen different lawmakers from each events, moved out of the Senate Legislation and Justice Committee on Thursday after it was modified to take impact in late December this yr, as a substitute of July. It goes subsequent to the Senate Transportation Committee for consideration.