It found that accidents decreased by 19.8% and fatalities by 18.3%. The numbers are from before the pandemic, comparing 2016, the last full year before the new law was passed and public attention, and 2019, the first full year below 0.05. The researchers said that despite the lower limit on blood alcohol levels, the state`s alcohol sales have not suffered, as alcohol sales and per capita consumption have actually increased, as have tourism and tax revenues. Arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) also did not increase significantly after the law came into force. The state of Utah has not conducted a cost analysis to determine whether Utah`s alcohol laws have impacted Utah`s business, economic growth or tourism industry. Companies that have decided to expand or relocate their operations to other states appear to be primarily alcohol-related. “The actual results of this study prove once again what we already knew: lowering the blood alcohol limit saves lives in the United States. The hope is that other states will see these results and join Utah in passing legislation for .05,” Security Committee member Tom Chapman said in a press release. The Highway Safety Bureau said 41 percent of drunk driving arrests did not report a blood alcohol level and 11 percent refused to be tested. Among those with a blood alcohol level, 43% reported 0.15. The highest number measured was 0.47, six times the legal limit. 2. Alcohol limits are personal • Several factors affect blood alcohol levels, including the number of drinks, age, gender, body weight and time since the first drink.
One drink, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is equivalent to 1.5 ounces of alcohol, 12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine. However, the National Transportation Safety Board, which supports a 0.05 limit and would like to see it implemented nationally, said many studies show that impairment begins after an alcoholic beverage and impairment is significantly impaired at 0.04 — the blood alcohol limit for commercial truck drivers. 5. Data will be tracked • The Utah Department of Public Safety will collect figures on alcohol-related injuries and deaths, said Thurston, director of the state`s Bureau of Health Statistics and a self-proclaimed researcher. “It will take three to five years,” he said, “to see the full effect of the law.” Similar to how states choose their legal blood alcohol level for drivers over 21, the law also varies in each state for the permitted blood alcohol level for underage drivers. For example, in Utah, it is illegal for people under the age of 21 to have any amount of alcohol in their system while driving.5 In contrast, Wyoming and New Jersey have set their legal blood alcohol levels for drivers under 21 at 0.02%, which is less than one drink for a woman under 200 pounds and a man under 160 pounds.6 7.8 Interestingly, The researchers also found that a 2018 survey in the state of Utah found that 26.6 percent of drinkers and 12.6 percent of non-drinkers thought the legal blood alcohol level was 0.05, even though the new law had not yet gone into effect. Developers, including some road safety advocates and the National Transportation Safety Board, say lower limits deter drunk driving and save lives. Many developed countries, including Australia, France and Italy, already have a standard of 0.05% or less. The abolition of the Curtains of Zion was an oft-proposed and controversial issue that influenced Utah policy for years. Many restaurants see this as another challenge in a state where there are too many restrictions on alcohol, while others see it as an indispensable tool to protect children and teens from drinking.
A new bill, HB 339, has been introduced that would allow restaurateurs to remove their curtains from Zion, provided the owners install a separate bar that would be inaccessible to those under 21. [22] Utah is the only state in the country with a blood alcohol level of 0.05, which is the strictest. FOX 13 recently requested data from the Utah Department of Public Safety`s Bureau of Highway Safety on drunk driving arrests and accidents since the law went into effect on Dec. 30, 2018. Utah is the first state to make it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.05. UHP has seen an increase in alcohol-related deaths over the past two years, with 61 reported in 2020 and so far in 2021. A report from the Highway Safety Board states that in crashes, only 3.1 percent of crashes from 2016 to 2020 involved an alcohol-related driver, but “they accounted for nearly 21 percent of motor vehicle fatalities over the same period.” It was the NTSB, before Homendy`s arrival in 2018, that recommended the 0.05 limit adopted by Utah in 2013. He outlined a multi-pronged path to eliminating alcohol-related deaths and collisions, including special courts and programs to reduce recidivism, expand the use of ignition interlocks and ensure high visibility.
In 1998, former President Bill Clinton launched a national standard to establish the notion of legal intoxication. Clinton demanded that a national blood alcohol limit of 0.08% or higher be set as a federal standard. As a result, all states now officially adopt 0.08% blood alcohol levels as a standard, but some have enacted various additional laws, such as Utah. Although the law was passed by the Utah legislature in 2017 and signed into law by Governor Gary Herbert, its effective date has been pushed back to December 30, 2018. It`s no coincidence that it`s New Year`s Eve that many people celebrate with too much alcohol and alcohol-related injuries and deaths increase. 4. Arrests for drunk driving must not increase • Schatz is not convinced that the law will increase arrests or decrease drunk driving deaths, as the majority of alcohol-related deaths occur at 0.15% blood alcohol concentration or higher. “Responsible drinkers will be cautious and monitor their consumption. These are the people who won`t drive after drinking,” he said. “For chronically impaired drivers, repeat offenders, I don`t see that this change in the law will force them to do anything else. They will always do what they do. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thurston had previously insisted that Utah`s dominant faith, a major force in the state`s alcohol policy, was not involved in the new law because it described it as a matter of public safety.
Trader Joe`s, which started in California as a convenience store that began selling wine, only opened its first store in Utah in 2012. The store`s founder, Joe Coulombe, said, “We built Trader Joe`s first on wine and then on food.” A cornerstone of his store`s sales is beer, wine and, in some cases, spirits. Due to Utah`s strict alcohol laws, alcoholic beverages were initially not available in Salt Lake City stores. Some theorize that Utah`s strict alcohol laws and the inevitable impact on the store`s margin were responsible for Trader Joe`s late entry into the Salt Lake City market. [36] With its new legal blood alcohol limit, will Utah become the first state for the lowest number of drunk driving deaths? According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, it will take three to five years to analyze the data and determine the impact of the new law.4 The agency also noted that in 2019, more than 22 percent of those who drank alcohol in Utah said they changed their behavior once the law went into effect. such as making sure a sober ride was available.