A national recommendation to tighten standards that constitute drunken driving may not affect Florida, local officials say.
The National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states lower the legal limit of blood alcohol content that indicates drunken driving – currently 0.08 nationwide – to 0.05.
More than 100 countries on six continents have BAC level limits set at 0.05 or lower, according to a board press release.
“The 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,” said NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman, according to the press release.
However, Gainesville Police Department spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said changing the limit would not necessarily affect DUI enforcement in Florida.
Tobias said Florida’s DUI law involves two conditions to be considered drunk at the wheel: The driver must either score a BAC level of 0.08 on a breath test or display signs of impairment.
Normally, he said, officers simply administer a field sobriety test.
“For us, honestly, a BAC is an icing on the cake,” Tobias said. “The actual number isn’t as important as if the field sobriety is showing that they are impaired.”
State Rep. Keith Perry said talk of changing the limit surfaced during session in Tallahassee, but nothing is definite.
However, he said managing the DUI limit could present an effective way to encourage safe driving.
“We certainly need to look at every possibility of using that without being overly restrictive,” he said.
Contact Kelcee Griffis at kgriffis@alligator.org.
