ADVOCATES ALERT: VICTORY IN NEW YORK!
GOVERNOR SIGNS .08 BAC LEGISLATION
December 30, 2002

UPDATE:

VICTORY! On Monday, Governor George E. Pataki today signed into law legislation that lowers the blood alcohol content (BAC) for legal intoxication while driving to .08 percent.

A .08 per se law makes it illegal in and of itself to drive with a BAC at or above .08%. Under a per se law, a Breathalyzer test alone is sufficient evidence to go forward with a drunk driving charge.

The new law allows for the suspension of a license pending prosecution if the BAC at arrest is .08 percent or more.

New York is the 34th state (plus DC) to adopt a .08 per se law.

Thank you for working with the New York coalition of Advocates to advance this issue. Your hard work and support played a key role in generating legislative support and were crucial in getting this law enacted.

.08 BAC FACTS

New York State has experienced a dramatic decline in alcohol-related traffic fatalities. In 1981 there were 1,107 alcohol-related deaths, while last year there were 315.

According to NHTSA's Early Assessment, alcohol was a factor in 40% of all fatal traffic crashes in 2001. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2002)

Alcohol-related crashes cost society more than $40 billion a year. Just one alcohol-related fatality is estimated to cost approximately $1.2 million. (NHTSA, 1998)

0.08% BAC is a level at which all drinkers, even experienced ones, are impaired with respect to critical driving skills. (NHTSA, 1998)

The relative risk of being killed in a single-vehicle crash is 11 times greater at BACs between 0.05 and 0.09% than at a BAC of 0.0% (no alcohol). At .10% BAC, the risk is at least 29 times higher. (Zador, 1991)

The average 170-pound male would need to consume more than four drinks in an hour on an empty stomach to reach a BAC of 0.08%. An average 137-pound female would need three drinks in one hour on an empty stomach to reach that level. (NHTSA, 1997)

Most other industrialized countries set their legal BAC level at .08% or lower. The BAC level is .08% in Canada, Austria, Great Britain and Switzerland; .05% in Australia, Finland and Norway; and .02% in Sweden. (NHTSA, 2001)

In 1996, five states that reduced their BAC levels to 0.08% experienced a 16% reduction in alcohol-related fatal crashes in which the fatally injured driver had a 0.08% BAC or higher and an 18% reduction for drivers with very high BAC levels of 0.15% or more. (Hingson et al., 1996)

Between 1985 and 1996, more than 5,500 children were killed in alcohol-related crashes. Approximately 64% of those children were passengers in vehicles driven by impaired drivers. (Journal of American Medical Association, 2000)

Safety belts were used by only 19% of fatally injured intoxicated driver (> .10% BAC), compared to 30% of fatally injured impaired drivers (< .09% BAC). (NHTSA, 1999)