NTSB Pushes To Reduce Legal Alcohol Limit

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its "Most Wanted List" and recommends the nationwide legal limit of .08 to .05.

The NTSB says by the time a person's Blood Alcohol Content is at .08, the risk of a fatal crash is more than doubled, so reducing it will save more lives on our roads. Surprisingly, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) does not agree.

MADD said there is not enough data to show it would make much of a difference. The advocacy group does want Oklahoma lawmakers to require ignition interlocks for all offenders who have a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher.  Right now, that is only required for repeat offenders or anyone who has a BAC of .15. There are so many different factors that affect a person's blood alcohol content -- how fast you drink, your weight, your gender, and how much food you have in your stomach.

A .05 BAC level would reduce the number of drinks an average-weight man of 180 pounds could have to two, according to the Cleveland Clinic's Blood Alcohol Calculator.

MADD said the only real way to save lives is to have a designated who has not had anything to drink before getting behind the wheel.

Blood Alcohol Calculator

NTSB "Most Wanted List"

How many drinks does it take to be in violation of this law? I used a BAC calculator to find out. I entered 10 ounces, that’s about two glasses of wine. I picked 13 percent alcohol content and entered my weight. It took about an hour to finish. According to the calculator, if this push to lower the alcohol limit was legal, I would be in violation of the law with just two drinks.