Could lowering the BAC limit result in fewer accident victims?

Almost everyone knows the dangers involved with drunk driving. Drunk driver accidents cause thousands of people throughout the country to suffer serious injuries every year, and many also lead to fatalities. When these types of collision do occur, the accident victims are left trying to pick up the pieces of a broken life, while the drunk driver often has to deal with criminal and civil penalties. Every state has the same legal limit for a driver's blood alcohol content level: .08.

However, a recent report detailed the findings of a study that came to the conclusion that there actually is no safe level of alcohol for a driver to have in their system when they operate a motor vehicle. The findings may be shocking in light of the fact that it really doesn't take much alcohol consumption for someone to begin registering a BAC level on a Breathalyzer test. It appears that so-called "buzzed" driving may actually be just as dangerous as driving with a BAC over the legal limit.

Further, the researchers decried the fact that the legal limit is set at .08, stating that there is no evidence that the .08 threshold is the point at which a person's ability to operate a motor vehicle becomes seriously impaired. Someone may be equally impaired at a BAC level of .07.

The beginnings of a movement to lower the legal limit in America has started in the last few years, and the results of this study may further bolster the assertion that the legal limit for driving while intoxicated should be lowered. The proponents of lowering the legal limit seem to prefer a "the lower the better" approach. If the legal limit does ultimately get lowered, hopefully there will be fewer drunk driving accidents.

Source: Fox News, "Buzzed drivers under legal limit still risk car accidents," Jan. 22, 2014