State House Bill Would Lower Drunk Driving Threshold

Newly introduced legislation would make Michigan the second state to lower its drunken-driving limit to a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.05%. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is supporting the House bill that was proposed by Democrats Thursday. It would drop the limit to 0.05% from 0.08%, which is the limit in all other states except Utah. Utah dropped to the 0.05% threshold in December.

MAAD President Helen Witty says critical driving skills are impaired at a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.05. The sponsor, Democratic Representative Abdullah Hammoud of Dearborn, says more must be done to prevent “a completely avoidable epidemic.” He points to how five Michigan family members were killed in January when a suspected drunken driver headed the wrong way on Interstate 75 in Kentucky. The wrong-way driver was also killed. That crash has inspired a bill in the U.S. House to make interlock devices standard equipment on all new vehicles to prevent drunks from driving.

The Associated Press contributed to this report