Utah Becomes Nation's Strictest for Blood Alcohol Level

Utah is now the nation's strictest state with regards to blood alcohol level in an effort to curb drunk driving accidents and deaths. While the nation's current standard is 0.08 percent, Utah's new law sets the state's blood alcohol content (BAC) at 0.05 percent.

This new law was passed in March 2017 and took effect December 30, 2018. This comes after several years of the National Transportation Safety Board (https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/2013_Impaired_Driving_BMG-FAQs.aspx) urging states to lower the legal limit to 0.05 percent. The state also has a "not a drop" law (https://www.utahcriminallaw.net/what-is-utahs-zero-tolerance-law/), making it illegal for motorists under the age of 21 to have any detectable alcohol in their system.

This isn't the first time Utah has blazed the way to stricter BAC laws. In fact, in 1983, the state was the first to lower the legal BAC level from 0.10 to 0.08 (https://www.npr.org/2018/12/26/679833767/utah-first-in-the-nation-to-lower-its-dui-limit-to-05-percent). It took nearly 20 years for the other 49 states to follow suit, but the effect of the change was a significant 10% drop in drunk driving-related traffic deaths. Utah officials hope that the nation once again embraces the change, helping to further lower the number of drunk driving deaths.

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What Does 0.05 Percent Feel Like?

At the current national standard of 0.08 percent, a man weighing 180 pounds can drink approximately four drinks (https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/alcohol_impairment_chart) before hitting the legal limit. At 0.05 percent, the number drops to about 2 1/2 drinks. For a 120 pound woman, the previous limit is typically reached at two drinks, with only one drink necessary to hit the 0.05 percent limit.

At the former limit of 0.08 percent, a person will likely experience poor muscle coordination, slurred speech, vision difficulties, poor balance, and a slowed reaction time. Typically, individuals with this BAC level also struggle with detecting danger and have impaired judgment, self-control, and reasoning skills. This can lead to problems seeing and interpreting traffic signals, stop signs, and changes in traffic patterns, depth perception, and speed control.

At the new level of 0.05 percent, there are still some detectable impacts on both the body and driving ability. Typically at this level, people might have difficulties focusing their eyes and making appropriate judgments. They might also have lowered inhibitions, reduced levels of alertness, and increased euphoria or "feel good feelings". This can impact an individual's coordination, the ability to track moving objects, steering ability, and ability to respond to emergency situations while driving.

Legal Consequences of Driving Under the Influence:

Utah has several significant consequences for driving under the influence (https://dld.utah.gov/dui/). Some of these consequences for the first offense include:

• Impounding of your vehicle
• Being required to have an ignition interlock (https://dld.utah.gov/iid/) placed on your vehicle for 18 months if you were 21 or older at the time of your arrest or 3 years if you were under 21.
• Two days in jail or 48 hours of community service
• A fine of at least $1310
• License suspension for 120 days

The consequences increase exponentially with each offense. Additionally, those convicted of a DUI will be placed on alcohol restricted driving privilege (ARD) for two years after a first-time DUI, unless the driver was under 21, in which case ARD status is triggered until the driver's 21st birthday. In the case of an automobile homicide or felony DUI, ARD status is lifelong. With ARD, you are not permitted to drive with any alcohol in your system and if you violate ARD, your license will be revoked for one year.

With Utah's steep consequences and newly-enacted lower BAC levels, the state hopes to lead the nation in curbing the tragic consequences of alcohol-related traffic deaths. Officials also hope that in the future, other states will take a similar strict approach in an effort to end these preventable tragedies.

Article is written by Charles Watson, who leads up the content writing for Sunshine Behavioral Health (https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/). If you find this article interesting, please make sure to share it.