This is the second in a series of blogs looking at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommending that the government lower the legal limit for blood-alcohol concentration from .08 to .05. If this is the first you have heard of this, ask yourself a question – are you for or against lowering the limit?
As a counselor for both in-class and online alcohol and drug classes I am discussing this very question with my students. Do you think you will be surprised by their reactions?
In my previous minor in possession (MIP) class of 12 students every student was against lowering the BAC to .05. One mother who came to pick up her son and I discussed the issue after class. She too was confounded with the notion. She is only 5-foot-one-inch tall and weighs less than 100 pounds. She would be unable to have one glass of wine at a restaurant and drive home.
Personally, I cannot see this recommendation passing. It was difficult enough to get the BAC reduced from .10 to .08. Our laws, especially on the state level, are becoming more relaxed with respect to the criminality of drugs rather than stricter.
What do you think?