Lowering the legal blood-alcohol will help save both lives and funding, protecting our roads from both drunken drivers and poor road conditions.
The state Senate passed legislation Thursday to decrease the legal blood-alcohol level from 0.10 to 0.08.
This is an important move because it will help reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes and keep federal highway construction funding.
In October 2000, the federal government passed a law requiring all states to pass a 0.08 blood alcohol level law by Oct. 1. Failure to comply could result in a loss of 2 percent of federal highway construction funding until 2006.
Since the law's inception, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Web site shows the states that have passed the required 0.08 blood-alcohol level helped to decrease alcohol related deaths by 8 percent.
This equation is very simple to understand: less drunken drivers equals less accidents, and the Senate should be applauded for passing the legislation.
According to MADD, 18,000 people die every year in alcohol-related crashes in the United States. Michigan ranked 12th in the country for alcohol-related deaths in 2001.
If the legislation passes, Michigan will be the 42nd state to have a 0.08 blood-alcohol level, which is critical if we want to have fewer deaths.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that, on average, each alcohol-related fatality in Michigan costs $3.5 million - $1.1 million in monetary costs plus $2.4 million in quality of life losses. Quality of life is defined by the NHTSA by placing a dollar value on the pain, suffering, and lost quality of life that victims and their families experience due to a death or injury.
In 1999, the 547 alcohol-related car accidents deaths cost the public $1.8 million. Add in about 29,400 people injured in the crashes and the total comes to $4.3 billion.
Essentially, the numbers can speak for themselves. The intent of the legislators is clear: to lower the number of alcohol-related deaths.
Couple that with saving our federal highway construction funding, and there's not much left to question.
