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DrugScreening.org


 
Despite Progress, U.S. Still Soft on DWI
July 13, 2005

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Research Summary

Highway deaths related to alcohol have declined, and laws have gotten tougher, but compared to most other nations the U.S. still goes relatively easy on people who drink and drive, Newsday reported July 13.

The U.S. standard for impairment, .08 percent, pales in comparison to Sweden's, which is .02 percent and means that drivers who drink a single beer, shot, or glass of wine face arrest. Australia and at least 10 European nations set their BAC level at .05 percent. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the standard is zero percent.

In Japan, the standard is .03 percent, but police can make arrests for any detectable level of alcohol. "A sip of beer, a sip of wine," said Tamotsu Ide, a former Japanese police captain. "It's almost impossible to drive after even that much ... Any drink, you will get caught."

"We're at a much lower level [of DWI offenses] than we were 20 years ago," said Kathryn Stewart, chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation. "But we still have one of the highest BAC [blood alcohol content] limits in the world."

Random breath tests are administered by police in many countries (without probable cause) to catch drunk drivers. In the Australian state of Victoria alone, 2.4 million drivers are stopped and randomly tested each year, and the maximum fine for a first offense is about $135,000.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by shirley rogers on 14 Mar 08 08:10 AM EDT
The state and federal governments make so much money off of Alcohol they will continue to ignore the problem. Minnesota is so soft on drunk drivers, License should be removed on the first offense. This killing and injuring of innocent people has to stop. The big push is on smoking,but I would guess alcohol health issues are worse.

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