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COG Takes the Wrong Approach to Combat Drunk Driving

30 December 1997

Metro Washington Council of Governments Taking the Wrong Approach to Combat Drunk Driving, Says the American Beverage Institute

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 -- The Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments (COG) is targeting the wrong people in the battle against drunk
driving, said Rick Berman, general counsel for the American Beverage
Institute.
    "COG's call for DC area governments to lower their drunk driving arrest
threshold to .08% blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) will only persecute
responsible social drinkers and take resources away from stopping the real
problem -- habitual drunk drivers," Berman said. "We commend COG's intentions,
but question whether they have considered the impact of this policy on people
who are not part of the problem."
    According to the US Department of Transportation, two-thirds of all
alcohol-related fatalities involve drivers with BAC levels of .14 percent and
above. The average BAC in alcohol-related fatalities is .17 percent.
    To reach a .17 BAC, an average-sized man must drink at least 10 beers in
two hours, or one beer every 12 minutes, according to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration.
    "Unfortunately, the .08% BAC proposal does not address this alcohol
abuser," Berman said.  "Instead, the law would make it illegal for a 120-pound
woman to drive after drinking two glasses of wine over a two-hour period.  If
COG was really wanted to reduce drunk driving, they should consider targeting
the cause of the problem -- alcohol abusers who drive."

SOURCE  American Beverage Institute