More States Push to Lower DWI Threshold
Alisa McMorris totes a wagon filled with leaflets and a picture of her son Andrew, who was killed by a drunken driver in 2018, as she makes the rounds in the New York State Capitol.
The 49-year-old Long Island woman, a member of the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is pressing legislators to pass a new state law that she says could decrease such tragedies: lowering the legal threshold for what constitutes driving under the influence of alcohol.
As I wrote last week in The Wall Street Journal, her lobbying effort is part of a campaign in a number of states to set the BAC, or blood alcohol level, at which a person can be charged with drunk driving to .05. In the U.S., driving-while-intoxicated or driving-under-the-influence laws are set at .08 everywhere except in Utah.
If the proposals are enacted, two standard drinks per hour—or perhaps less—could lead someone to be charged with DWI. Associations representing restaurants lobbied against the bills, saying they could put jobs at risk. Supporters said such measures save lives, and they pointed to a decrease in traffic deaths after Utah’s law took effect. The push comes amid a national uptick in alcohol-related traffic deaths that began in 2020.
“I think we need to get rid of that message, telling people that it’s OK that .08 is legal,” said John Lovick, a Washington state senator and former State Trooper. “Zero tolerance is what we’re working toward.”
He said he introduced a BAC .05 bill because of what he saw while on patrol. After dozens of field sobriety checks, he concluded that he wouldn’t want someone he pulled over and blew a .06 or a .07 to be on the road where his children played.
The bill in Washington died this month amid opposition from the Washington Hospitality Association, which represents restaurants. Its representative testified at a hearing that changing the law would increase liability for restaurant owners and employees. An association of the state’s wineries said it would jeopardize tastings, which are a key driver of sales.
The Hawaii state senate passed a bill earlier this month. It was the third consecutive year that’s occurred, but there still hasn’t been a vote in the lower house. In New York, Mayor Eric Adams endorsed a bill and his transportation commissioner lobbied lawmakers in Albany about it.
But there’s no sign it’s going anywhere, in the face of a similar cocktail of opposition that doomed the Washington legislation. A DWI defense lawyer told me that attorneys have aired their concerns to lawmakers, noting that New York already has a driving-while-ability-impaired statute on the books that kicks in at .05 for a non-criminal violation. And federal data show that most alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes report BAC’s well in excess of .08.
“The problem is not you or me having a second drink,” said Scott Wexler, executive director of the trade group Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association.
THE QUESTION: What was the first winery in New York state?
Know the answer? Drop me a line at jimmy.vielkind@gmail.com. Or just write with thoughts, feedback or to say hi.
THE LAST ANSWER: A Texas Hot in Wellsville comes with minced onion, yellow mustard and a spiced meat sauce. It’s a common combo in Upstate New York, as I once deliciously reported.