NTSB Requests Lowering Drinking Limit to 0.05%

Currently, the National Transportation Safety Board is asking the federal government to reconsider lowering drinking limit currently in affect. The current law puts the BAC limit at 0.08%. In the future, the NTSB hopes that the federal government will lower this national limit to 0.05%, further tightening regulations on drunk driving and reduction as many as 1,000 drunk driving accidents per year.

Current statistics show that one person dies in a drunk driving crash every hour, and more than 20 people are injured in alcohol-related accidents within that same amount of time. On average, three of those injuries per hour are debilitating. This can add up to about 10,000 deaths per year related to intoxicated drivers. 27,000 individuals each year have their lives forever changed because of a permanent injury from one of these accidents. Another 146,000 recover from their injuries, but still suffer the pains of the accident that they were involved in.

These statistics are the reason that the NTSB is calling the federal government to listen to their suggestions. The NTSB cannot make any laws, because it is not an authoritative agency. Instead, the research groups can only petition to the lawmakers and present a convincing argument as to why their requests should be considered. The NTSB also suggests that the government require ignition interlock devices for all DUI offenders, regardless of whether it is a first-offense.

This is because many DUI offenders out on the road are second-time or third-time suspects who have already been convicted of drunk driving but are not discouraged from committing the same crime over again. If you have been injured by a drunk driver in a car accident, or if you lost a loved one in a DUI crash, then you have the right to seek compensation from the driver –at-fault for the accident. Talk to a lawyer at the firm today for more information!