AAA Clubs of Minnesota Support Reducing the Drunk Driving Limit to .08

Guest editorial by: Jeff Ogden, president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa, and Steve Frank, president, AAA Minneapolis

BURNSVILLE, Minn., Nov. 10 -- The AAA Clubs of Minnesota (AAA Minnesota/Iowa and AAA Minneapolis) join Governor Tim Pawlenty in calling on the state legislature to pass a bill this session that would reduce the legal Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level in Minnesota from .10 to .08 percent. Passing this legislation will reduce the number of deaths on the roadways and restore federal highway dollars to the state's transportation fund. By passing this legislation, we will also join the 44 other states that have already adopted .08 BAC laws. This guest commentary intends to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about this issue.

What is the problem with Minnesota's current legislation? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorists whose B.A.C. levels are .08 or higher have severely diminished abilities to judge distance and speed, as well as steer, track visually, concentrate, brake and stay in their driving lane. Minnesota's legislature has not passed the reduction in the past three legislative sessions, despite pending federal financial penalties.

Why is this change important? This reduction is important for two reasons. First, drivers who drink have diminished skills that continue to decline as they drink more. They are a danger to themselves, their passengers, other motorists and pedestrians. Second, the federal government is withholding transportation funds amounting to $6.64 million dollars in fiscal year 2003 and will continue to increase the amount withheld each year until Minnesota passes this legislation. If Minnesota does not pass the legislation before 2007, it can never recover the $66.40 million federal dollars it will have lost.

  What important information should Minnesotans know about drunk driving?
    1.  Thirty six percent of all Minnesota traffic fatalities are
        alcohol-related (239 deaths out of 657 deaths in 2002).
    2.  The average alcohol-related fatality in Minnesota costs $3.6 million
        and the average injury costs $106,000.
    3.  Seventy-two percent of Americans support the B.A.C. reduction to
        .08, including the medical community and law enforcement agencies.
    4.  The risk of being killed in a crash at .08 B.A.C. is at least 11
        times higher than drivers without alcohol in their system.  At .10
        B.A.C., the risk is at least 29 times higher.

What can Minnesotans do to help pass this legislation? Call your local state representative and state senator to urge them to vote to pass the .08 legislation during this next session, which begins Feb. 2.

Working together, we can make the roads safer for all of us, restore our federal transportation funding and join the other 44 states who have already passed this important traffic safety legislation.