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As this site has been warning, MADD and friends at the NTSB have been pushing to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration from .08% to .05%. Today, the National Transportation Safety Board voted to recommend to states that they lower the blood-alcohol content that constitutes drunken driving. Currently, all 50 states have set a BAC level of .08, reflecting the percentage of alcohol, by volume, in the blood. If a driver is found to have a BAC level of .08 or above, he or she is subject to arrest and prosecution.
The NTSB is an investigative agency that advocates on behalf of safety issues. It has no legal authority to order any change to state or federal law. It would be up to individual states whether to accept the NTSB’s recommendation, and up to the Department of Transportation whether to endorse the recommendations. States are effectively forced to comply with the Department of Transportations guidelines to qualify for federal highway funds. If the DOT acts forcefully, we may see the new legal limit within a few years. Following this push, the neo-prohibitionists at MADD and their friends in the government will push for a .02% BAC standard. They will not be satisfied until prohibition is the law of the land.
It will not be a defense that you are not affected by alcohol, much less impaired if the new standards are adopted. All the prosecution will have to show is that the breathalyzer machine said you were over a .05% BAC and you will be convicted. What makes matters much worse in Ohio, is that under a 1984 Ohio Supreme Court decision in State v. Vega your attorney will not be permitted to challenge the workings of the machine in court. You read that right… In Ohio if the machine says you failed your attorney cannot argue to a jury that the machine was wrong.
The last move from .10 to .08 BAC levels took 21 years for each state to implement and Ohio was one of the last states to comply with the federal mandate. We will keep you informed of this issue and provide updates as they become available.
Ohio DUI attorney Charles M. Rowland II dedicates his practice to defending the accused drunk driver. He has the credentials and the experience to win your case and has made himself the Miami Valley’s choice for DUI defense. Contact Charles Rowland by phone at 937-318-1DUI (937-318-1384), 937-879-9542, or toll-free at 1-888-ROWLAND (888-769-5263). For after-hourshelp contact our 24/7 DUI HOTLINE at 937-776-2671. For information about Dayton DUI sent directly to your mobile device, text DaytonDUI (one word) to 50500. Follow DaytonDUI on Twitter @DaytonDUI or Get Twitter updates via SMS by texting DaytonDUI to40404. DaytonDUI is also available on Facebook, www.facebook.com/daytondui and on the DaytonDUI channel on YouTube. You can also email Charles Rowland at:CharlesRowland@DaytonDUI.com or write to us at 2190 Gateway Dr., Fairborn, Ohio 45324.
Related articles
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- NTSB Recommends Lowering The Legal Limit On Drunk Driving To .05 (boston.cbslocal.com)
- Lower BAC level standard proposed (wwlp.com)
- National Transportation Safety Board recommends that states cut blood alcohol limit for DUI tickets to .05 percent (lifeloctechnologies.wordpress.com)
- Federal Agency Recommends New DUI Limit: .05% (duiblog.com)
- DUI in Dayton, Ohio? Your Case Will Be Heard In The Dayton Municipal Court (daytondui.com)
- Feds want states to lower DUI standard to .05 (kdvr.com)
