{"id":658112,"date":"2013-05-15T10:51:28","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T14:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.webpronews.com\/?p=230062"},"modified":"2013-05-15T10:51:28","modified_gmt":"2013-05-15T14:51:28","slug":"lower-blood-alcohol-limit-urged-by-ntsb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/658112","title":{"rendered":"Lower Blood Alcohol Limit Urged by NTSB"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB<\/a>) this week issued guidelines meant to totally eliminate alcohol-related car crashes. Among their recommendations is that states lower their blood alcohol driving limits to 0.05.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost Americans think that we\u2019ve solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it\u2019s still a national epidemic,\u201d said Deborah Hersman, chairman of the NTSB. \u201cOn average, every hour one person is killed and 20 more are injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NTSB stated that 0.05 BAC (blood alcohol content) is when “most” drivers experience a decline in cognitive and visual ability. According to the NTSB, more than 100 countries have BAC limits at or lower than 0.05.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe research clearly shows that drivers with a BAC above 0.05 are impaired and at a significantly greater risk of being involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured,\u201d said Hersman.<\/p>\n

The NTSB cited statistics to make their case that drunk driving<\/a> is still a problem in the U.S. Among the statistics were the fact that close to 10,000 people each year are killed in alcohol-related car crashes. Also, 30% of highway fatalities are attributed to impaired drivers – a statistic that has remained relatively steady despite the total number of highway fatalities having fallen over the past few decades.<\/p>\n

In addition to urging states to lower their BAC limits, the NTSC also recommended that states support sobriety checkpoints and “saturation patrols” in addition to high-profile media campaigns in an effort to deter drunk driving. It also endorsed the use of “administrative license suspension,” which allows police to suspend a driver’s license at the time of a DUI arrest, and went even further, stating that offenders should have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles before license reinstatement.<\/p>\n

The NTSB released an informational YouTube PSA to accompany their recommendations:<\/p>\n