Mixing alcohol and driving is always a bad cocktail. The state of Michigan is recognizing this by lowering the legal blood-alcohol content, or BAC, from .10 to .08, starting Wednesday.

The state benefits from this reduction, as it otherwise would have been fined each year by the U.S. Department of Transportation. With the economy in the dumps and state funding being cut left and right, the last thing the state needs is to fork over money it doesn't have.

While studies show that 80 percent of MSU students already are cautious and plan to have a designated driver when drinking, this new law might deter some drinkers from getting behind the wheel.

According to the Michigan Annual Drunk Driving Audit, 8,954 persons were injured and 358 were killed in 15,209 alcohol-related crashes in the state in 2002.

During that same year, statistics show there were 57,789 alcohol-related arrests and 57,542 convictions. Closer to home, in Ingham County, there were 166 injuries and four fatalities in alcohol-related crashes in 2002.

The BAC reduction might not have a huge impact on statistics since two-thirds of alcohol-related fatalities occur at a BAC of .16 or higher, according to the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association.

Although this might seem like a jumble of numbers, each represents a senseless death.

Michigan is now among 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that have adopted this federal standard.

This legislation proves to be a win-win situation for Michigan - an attempt to lower the number of alcohol-related accidents, while maintaining state funding.

But it also is a win for families who unfortunately have dealt with alcohol-related accidents in their lives.

If having a lower BAC level prevents one death, that's reason enough for the new legislation.