re: #3 Lidane

The only thing lowering the legal BAC limit does is increase the number of potential people who will end up on probation for DUI. All that does is adds people to the system, makes money for defense lawyers and the states ,and makes MADD happy but overall it’s ineffective.

This is punitive and would essentially criminalize going out to bars.

First of all, MADD has nothing to do with this and is not even taking a position.

Secondly, you are probably right that in the short term this change would carry a possibility of burdening a criminal justice system that is already in crisis in a number of jurisdictions. This would obviously be an adverse outcome. However, there is a movement gaining traction around the country where repeat offender cases are being removed from criminal court completely and being addressed in an accountability/treatment model. You can read about it here. This is the type of thinking that can hopefully separate criminals from mere substance abusers in our justice system, saving millions of dollars and improving public health and safety.

I do, however, reject in absolute terms the notion that this change would “criminalize going out to bars”. There is absolutely nothing about this that stops anyone from going to a bar (or anywhere else) and drinking as much as they like…as long as they have plans for getting home that do not include driving. I PROMISE you that the alcohol industry screamed bloody murder and predicted the death of all bars when the limit dropped down to 0.08. Europe is FULL of bars, and there really isn’t public transport waiting outside of each and every one of them waiting to whisk patrons home safely around the clock.