{"id":68649,"date":"2017-03-30T00:34:36","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T06:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/utah-oks-nations-toughest-drunken-driving-limit\/"},"modified":"2017-03-30T06:34:36","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T06:34:36","slug":"utah-oks-nations-toughest-drunken-driving-limit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/utah-oks-nations-toughest-drunken-driving-limit\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah OKs nation\u2019s toughest drunken driving limit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A man protests a Utah law that lowers the blood alcohol limit for drivers to .05 percent from .08 percent.<\/span>Rick Bowmer\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

SALT LAKE CITY \u2013 Utah\u2019s governor signed legislation Thursday giving the predominantly Mormon state the strictest drunken driving threshold in the country, a change that restaurant groups and representatives of the ski and snowboard industry say will hurt tourism.<\/p>\n

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said lowering the blood alcohol limit for most drivers to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent will save lives.<\/p>\n

The change means a 150-pound man would be over the 0.05 limit after two beers, while a 120-pound woman could exceed it after a single drink, though that can be affected by a number of factors, including how much food a person has eaten, according to the American Beverage Institute, a national restaurant group.<\/p>\n

Opponents, including the group, had urged Herbert to veto the bill, saying it would punish responsible drinkers and burnish Utah\u2019s reputation as a Mormon-centric place unfriendly to those who drink alcohol.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are going to try to say this is a religious issue. And that is just absolutely false. This is a public safety issue,\u201d the governor, who is Mormon, said at a news conference.<\/p>\n

Restaurant groups said they don\u2019t support drunken driving but a 0.05 percent limit won\u2019t catch drivers who are actually impaired. Plus, the law is \u201ca total attack on the state\u2019s hospitality industry, customers and the tourism industry,\u201d American Beverage Institute Executive Director Sarah Longwell said.<\/p>\n

The group took out full-page ads Thursday in Salt Lake City\u2019s two daily newspapers and USA Today, featuring a fake mugshot under a large headline reading, \u201cUtah: Come for vacation, leave on probation.\u201d<\/p>\n

But proponents say the law will send a resounding message that people should not drink and drive \u2013 no matter how little somebody has consumed. The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety applauded the change, saying it\u2019s a \u201csensible solution\u201d to deter drunken driving.<\/p>\n

If drivers are not impaired, they won\u2019t violate the law, said Rep. Norm Thurston, the bill\u2019s sponsor. The Republican says police won\u2019t measure someone\u2019s blood alcohol level until they have seen visible signs of impairment and the person fails a field sobriety test.<\/p>\n

He also said Utah became the first state to lower its blood alcohol limit to 0.08 percent in 1983, and since then tourism has flourished.<\/p>\n

Utah\u2019s Tourism Office said it\u2019s not concerned about the law discouraging visitors, noting that a number of foreign countries such as France, Australia and Italy have similar laws and don\u2019t have a problem attracting tourists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not many Mormons in Rome, and they\u2019re doing it there,\u201d Herbert quipped Thursday.<\/p>\n

In the United States, the blood alcohol limit for most drivers is 0.08 percent, but limits vary among states for commercial drivers or motorists with a conviction of driving under the influence.<\/p>\n

The National Transportation Safety Board has encouraged states to drop their blood alcohol levels to 0.05 percent or even lower, but it\u2019s met resistance from the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers in Washington and Hawaii had considered lowering their limits to 0.05 percent this year but both measures appear dead.<\/p>\n

In Utah, the new law would take effect on Dec. 30, 2018, just before New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Herbert said he plans to call lawmakers into a special legislative session this summer to improve the law. He said he wants legislators to consider a tiered punishment system with less stringent penalties for those convicted of driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 to 0.07 percent.<\/p>\n

Utah has some of the lowest rates of fatal DUI accidents in the country, and though the population has boomed over the past decade, the DUI arrest rate has dropped.<\/p>\n

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has taken a neutral position on the measure.<\/p>\n

J.T. Griffin, a government affairs officer for the group, said in a statement that MADD is focusing on \u201ccountermeasures that work, such as ignition interlock laws for all drunk driving offenders and sobriety checkpoints.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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