Reducing the legal limits for alcohol can lead to a reduction in driving fatalities. That’s the finding from a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The analysis followed Utah changing its law, reducing the legal limit for drunk driving.
Utah lowered its legal blood alcohol concentration levels from 0.08 to 0.05 per deciliter, in 2017. The new law went into effect in 2018 leading to a decline in drunk driving fatalities, according to a study which compared data from before and after the change.
Kaigang Li, an associate professor at Colorado State University, says their study, “Modeling a national Graduated-BAC policy to reduce alcohol impaired driving injury and fatal crashes,” showed that changing the law can change behavior on a mass scale.
“People think about the penalty or that they put their own life and other people’s life at high risk, if they drink then drive on the road,” he said.
Li and his team used data from the national Fatality Analysis Reporting System. They compared Utah data before and after the 2017 law and cross referenced it with data from bordering states – Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Their findings showed alcohol-related crash injuries and fatalities decreased by 11% internationally. The study also found a significant difference when comparing Utah with its neighboring states.
“The findings definitely indicate that a lower BAC limit can be an effective public health strategy for reducing impaired driving, deaths and improving roadway safety,” Li said.
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes have consistently accounted for about 30% of all fatalities nationwide, according to the study.
The research was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institute of Health. This is the first of several studies to be conducted on the effect of alcohol limits, Li said.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
