Well this legal issue is bound to generate a whole lot of controversy.
The current level for drunk driving in Pennsylvania is .08.
The National Transportation Safety Board, a federal agency, wants to lower that level to .05.
Their reasoning is quite simple.
They claim that lowering the level to .05 will save lives.
They claim that even at the lower level, drivers generally have a reduced coordination capacity and difficulty driving.
However on the other side of it are groups like the restaurant trade group and the American Beverage Institute.
They suggest that lowering the level will make anyone who has more than one drink a potential DUI suspect.
They also feel that the current level is a fair balance between the safety of the public and the right of people to enjoy themselves by having a drink or two and then driving home safely.
It is probably safe to say that the population in general supports their position.
Many people especially people under 30 feel that the NTSB has no business telling people of a state what it can and cannot do.
Remember the NTSB is only an agency made up of faceless bureaucrats accountable to no one.
They were never elected to anything.
Well like so many other things in the law, this is a very subjective matter.
Legally there is no right or wrong answer. It is just what we as a society want to have as our law.
Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident, slip and fall and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully wants to know your opinion on this important legal issue.
You might ask yourself how the NTSB, a federal agency will be able to force a state like Pennsylvania to accept the lower legal limit.
Any ideas how?
Actually they work by threat.
What they tell states like Pennsylvania is you do not have to lower your level for drunk driving to.05. However if you do not do so, you will not get federal funding.
$$
See the hammer here?
If Pennsylvania wants to get federal money for pothole repairs etc. it’s going to have to agree to lower the level for drunk driving to .05.
If Pennsylvania refuses to do so, they will have to fund that money themselves.
In fact that’s exactly how the current level was lowered from .10 to .08.
Pittsburgh wrongful death, car accident and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully wonders how far this can go.
Will the law someday be that you cannot have any alcohol in your system when you’re driving a car?
Where do you weigh in on this?
Special thanks to my son Kevin for sending me the link to this article.
Thanks for reading.
You are the best.
Bernie the attorney.