Alcohol in any amount can greatly impair driving. Car accidents are the leading cause of death in the United States for people under age 34. Of those deaths, more than 40 percent are alcohol related. These numbers would be greatly reduced if the legal B.A.C. limit were lowered to zero. .
B.A.C. stands for blood alcohol content. This is measured by the number of grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. Statute 169A in the Minnesota Code states that it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with a B.A.C. over .08. This was recently changed from .10. I propose that the limit be changed again, to zero. Changing the legal limit from .10 to .08 is very insignificant. When a driver has a B.A.C. of .08 he is 17 times more likely to get in an accident then if he were sober. This is ridiculous. For some reason congress seems to think that this means that it is ok to drive. I do not think that anymore would get into their car if someone told them that they are 17 times more likely to hurt themselves or another on their way home. Most people can have a few drinks and still feel like they can drive just fine, but what they don't realize is that many skills can be hindered without them even knowing it. For example; a simple task such as concentrating on two separate sources of visual information can be impaired at B.A.C.'s of .02 or less. When a B.A.C. of .05 is reached things like reaction time, visual perception, and steering tasks are greatly affected. A "160-pound person drinking two beers within an hour would probably have a BAC of 0.04, well below the legal limits of driving under the influence, but 1.4 times more likely to have an accident than someone who is sober." If this same person has two more beers with an hour they are 11 times more likely to have an accident. .
There would be many consequences to changing the legal limit to zero. Although most consequences would be positive there would also be a few negative repercussions.
