New York lawmakers want to lower blood alcohol level for drunk driving to .05 from .08

ALBANY — Advocates and lawmakers want to make New York the second state to lower its legal blood alcohol limit from .08 to .05 — a change supporters argue could save lives and keep drunk drivers off the road.

Sen. John Liu (D-Queens) reintroduced a piece of legislation this year that would lower the state’s legal drinking and driving limit and the bill has the backing of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the National Transportation Safety Board and city Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

“We have seen in recent years a continual increase in the number of deaths related to drinking while driving,” Liu said during a press conference at the State Capitol. “The trend is up. It’s totally unacceptable and we can do something about this.”

The measure, also sponsored by Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon (D-Brooklyn), would lower the blood alcohol content threshold for charging someone with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) from .08 to .05.

Penalties for DWI include loss of driving privileges, fines and possible jail time.

Alisa McMorris, whose 12-year-old son Andrew McMorris was killed by a drunk driver in 2018 while hiking with his Boy Scout troop, said the change is needed to prevent other families from suffering.

“Andrew was ripped from our family, his sister, friends, teachers and scouts,” McMorris said. “Impaired driving leads to tragedy every single day on our roads and we want to make our roads safer so no other family has to endure this 100% preventable loss.

“We can no longer look the other way and need to encourage safer behavior,” she added.

According to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, one third of the fatalities on New York roads involve impaired or intoxicated drivers and pedestrians.

Currently, drivers with a BAC between .05 and .08 can be charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol, which carries much lower fines and shorter license suspensions if convicted.

Several other states, including Hawaii and Washington, are currently eyeing lowering BAC limits.

In 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended states lower the limit to .05. Only Utah has done so in the decade since.

A study released this year analyzed data from before and after Utah lowered the BAC limit and found that the state recorded fewer traffic fatalities and fewer fatal crashes following the change.

The fatality rate in Utah fell by 18.3% and the fatal crash rate decreased by 19.8% after the limit was lowered, according to the study from the federal Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Rodriguez said Mayor Adams is passionate about the bill in Albany and wants to see it passed this year.

“As the Adams administration has made clear: 2023 is the year we combat the most aggressive and dangerous drivers on our roads,” Rodriguez said. “Since the pandemic, we have seen an alarming increase in high-speed car wrecks, especially on highways, very often fueled by the deadly combination of driving under the influence.”