Do drunk driving laws work?
In the United States, the legal limit for intoxication is determined by Blood Alcohol Content, or BAC. In 49 of the 50 states, a BAC of 0.08 means that you are legally intoxicated and will get a DWI or DUI if caught driving under the influence. The only exception is Utah, which recently lowered their intoxication limit to a BAC of 0.08 (they were also the first to lower it to 0.08 from 0.10 in the 1980s).
If you’re curious what your BAC might be under different circumstances, you can try a BAC calculator to get an estimate. Remember that online calculators don’t account for all factors and are not a legal tool.
In spite of the many innovations in the past several decades, 38.1% of automobile fatalities in Texas in 2016 involved a driver under the influence. That accounts for over a third of vehicular fatalities, despite harsh punishments for DWIs, a lower BAC limit, better safety features in cars, and the proliferation of ride share apps in the last few years. In 2016, 1,438 people were killed on Texas roads in accidents where a driver was under the influence, or 38.1% of automobile fatalities. Averaged out, someone was injured or killed in an automobile accident every twenty minutes.
With all of the negative statistics, it can be easy to wonder whether or not the current laws against DWIs and DUIs are doing enough, or whether they make a difference at all. So, do drunk driving laws really work?
The Current Situation of DWIs in America
Many countries have lower legal BAC limits than the U.S. for intoxicated driving. Argentina, Belgium, Australia, and even Scotland, a country known for whiskey, have a legal intoxication threshold of 0.05.
Last year, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report detailing called possible ways to end intoxicated driving and possible repercussions called, “Getting to Zero Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities: A Comprehensive Approach to a Persistent Problem”. According to the report, incidents of alcohol-related driving fatalities have fallen significantly from the 1980s, with an 80% reduction in alcohol impaired drivers weekend evenings from 1973 to 2014 Overall, alcohol-impaired driving fatalitie have fallen 40% in the the 33 years between 1982 and 2015. While this is a positive trend, the report alwso states that “driving fatalities have constituted almost 31 percent of overall motor vehicle crash fatalities from 2006 to 2016,” and that very little has changed in the past 7 years.
Regarding intoxicated driving, the U.S. ranks poorly in this regard compared to other high-income countries. Approximately ninety people per die die on U.S. roads, and a third of those involve alcohol.
The report ultimately includes that DWI enforcement should be comprehensive through each stage of an alcohol-impaired driving situation. Their three catgories involve measures to reduce drinking to legal intoxication, reducing the decision to drive while intoxicated, and interventions after the fact like DWI courts that alter repeat behavior. Other measures, such as Zero Tolerance policies, Graduated Licensing, and stricter DWI Child Endagerment laws could potentially help lower alcohol-impaired driving even more.
Zero Tolerance
Texas has a Zero Tolerance policy when it comes to minors drinking. If a minor is pulled over with any detectable amount of alcohol in their system, even a 0.01 BAC, they can be charged with a DUI. In Texas, this charge is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, community service, a suspended license, and any other measures the judge deems necessary.
Graduated Licensing
Graduated licensing is the way in which young drivers gain more driving privileges over time, with different requirements and age limits for each stage.
At 15, Texans are eligible for a learner’s permit. With a learner’s permit, they must:
- Take a driver’s education course
- Submit an Application for Driver’s License Form
- Have proof of social security, driver’s license education, and Texas residency
- Have a licensed driver 21+ years of age in the passenger seat at all times
At 16 years old, one becomes eligible for a provisional driver’s license. Between 16 and 18 years of age, there are limits to driving freedom, which include:
- No driving between midnight and 5am (except for emergencies and religious, work, and school functions)
- No hands-free devices (except emergencies)
- No driving with more than one non-relative passenger under 21 years old
However, our decades of lowering alcohol-impaired automobile accidents stalled in 2014 and 2015, and even rose agaian. Some are proponents of more financial or infrastructural methods, like higher alcohol taxes or better public transportation.
Regional Differences in Alcohol Impaired Driving
Another study found that the effectiveness of different policies aiming at reducing impaired driving depend on what the impaired driving situation in that area already is. Areas with low fatality rates responded better towards measures that impact attitudes towards alcohol, whereas areas with higher fatalities responded slightly better to legal consequences after the fact.
For example, they found that in regions that already had low rates of fatalities involving alcohol, certain factors like increases in young drivers between 16 and 24 and increases in the unemployment rate correlated with increases in alcohol-related automobile fatalities. In these areas, measures such as higher alcohol taxes were more successful than ares that already had high fatalities rates due to alcohol. In areas with high alcohol-related fatalities, measures that dealt with consequences (like the BAC limit and license revocation were marginally more successful.
So, Do Drunk Driving Laws Work?
Broadly, yes. As laws have become stricter to protect drivers from intoxicated drivers and intoxicated drivers from themselves, the rates of alcohol-related automobile fatalities has gone down. Unfortunately, the consequences of drunk driving are still widespread. However, with measures taking into consideration societal factors and DWI courts that focus on the root cause of DWIs, further progress may be made.
Thank you for reading the legal news blog of The Law Office of Gabriella Young. Contacting an experienced attorney right when you are charged is incredibly important for the wellbeing of your case. We are an Austin, Travis County, and Williamson County criminal defense firm experienced in DWI and DUI cases, and our jail release assistance is available 24/7. We are dedicated to our clients and their futures, and will handle your case with compassion and dedication!