On the 25th anniversary of our nation’s deadliest alcohol-impaired driving crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a new set of alcohol-impaired driving recommendations. The most notable recommendation is gaining a lot of attention: Reducing the maximum Blood Alcohol Content from 0.08 BAC to 0.05 BAC in all 50 states.
These 19 recommendations are the first full set from NTSB in more than a decade, and they include a call for stronger laws, swifter enforcement, and expanded use of technology. The recommendations also include a section focused specifically on repeat DWI offenders, recognizing the effectiveness of DWI Courts and 24/7 Sobriety Programs. Despite the consequences, repeat offenders do not easily change their behavior. Although they represent a minority of drivers with a BAC level of 0.08 or higher in fatal crashes (7% in 2011), repeat offenders are disproportionately represented in the fatal crash population. In 2011, NHTSA estimated that drivers in fatal crashes with BACs of 0.08 or higher were seven times more likely to have a prior DWI conviction than those with no alcohol in their systems.
Several of the other recommendations also leverage technology to stop an alcohol-impaired driver from driving a car. Ignition interlock devices, for example, can stop a car from starting if the driver has been drinking. The problem with ignition interlocks, however, is that fewer than 50% of those offenders ordered to install one in their car actual do it. And, many offenders claim (1) they don’t have a car; or (2) they drive a car other than the one with the ignition interlock.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) came out today with a strong response, issuing both a press statement and a blog post. “This is one approach,” said J.T. Griffin, MADD’s senior vice president of public policy. “We feel our approach has the opportunity to save more lives.”
In a blog post from MADD National President Jan Withers on the NTSB’s announcement, the organization seems to see the NTSB effort as a distraction to progress, though it doesn’t necessarily take issue with any of the specific recommendations. “While lowering the standard could reduce fatalities, that benefit would be many years in the future. More importantly, pursuing it would distract from current initiatives that are saving even more lives today,” wrote Withers. In a press release, MADD further clarified that their agenda will specifically not include support for lowering the BAC per se level to 0.05.
We are pleased to see the NTSB step to the forefront of the fight against DUI and acknowledge both proven programs that are working and opportunities to further reduce the rate of DUI, both short- and long-term.
What do you think? Are the NTSB’s recommendations on point? Are they a distraction from a stronger agenda?
