Editorial: Tougher DUI limit long time in coming

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 10:07 a.m.

Congress and President Clinton are moving forward on a sensible plan that would set a strict national standard for drunken driving. House and Senate negotiators have agreed that the states should establish a 0.08 percent blood alcohol threshold to determine the legal level for drunken driving. The new law would be phased in, starting in 2004.

This will be a significant shift in anti-drunken driving policy since 31 states, including Nevada, define drunken driving as a 0.10 percent blood alcohol level. Previous efforts to get the Nevada Legislature to strengthen the limits have failed, principally because of opposition by restaurants, bars and casinos. They have argued that there has been no convincing evidence that toughening the limit actually has an impact on reducing drunken driving and, for that matter, they say a stricter standard will hurt their business.

Under the legislation in Congress, the states can keep their current limits, but they will lose 2 percent of their federal highway funds if they do so. It's time for Nevada to pass the tougher standard -- too many lives have been lost to drunken drivers. Drunken driving opponents note that in the states where the 0.08 standard has been created, lives have been saved. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said that in Illinois there was a 13.7 percent drop in the number of fatal crashes involving drunken driving since it was passed in 1997.

Lowering the blood-alcohol level won't be a panacea, though. Making the roads safer also requires strict enforcement of DUI laws, a willingness to prosecute drunken driving cases and imposing stiff sentences when a defendant is found guilty. There will be people who will drive drunk no matter what, but the new limit should act as a deterrent to those who aren't hard-core drinkers.