Drunk driving is a problem that plagues communities throughout the nation, including the Pittsburgh area. While current laws make it illegal to operate a vehicle when one's blood alcohol level is 0.08 or higher, individuals still get behind the wheel routinely to operate a vehicle. Doing so can result in injuries not only to them, but others on the roads as well.

While there are ultimately many reasons that car accidents occur in the state of Pennsylvania, car crashes resulting from drivers who are under the influence happen all too frequently. Nationwide approximately 30 percent of deaths due to motor vehicle accidents involve drivers who are too intoxicated to legally be operating a vehicle.

The National Transportation Safety Board, the agency charged with regulating the safety of the roads, recently considered things that could be done to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the road. One of the options it discussed was reducing the current BAC level from 0.08 to 0.05. For most people such a change would likely reduce the number of drinks allowed before driving by one beverage.

There are likely many who would not be receptive to the proposal. In addition to push back from businesses that make and sell beverages with alcohol, many drivers may find the change misguided. To many, drivers falling into the lower threshold are not the real problem. The change would do nothing to address issues with the individuals who routinely drive after consuming amounts that put them far over the current limit.

Source: New York Times, "States Urged to Cut Limit on Alcohol for Drivers," Matthew L. Wald, May 14, 2013