New drunk-driving standards good for Pa.

On Monday, the Pennsylvania State House passed a bill making the roads safe, aiding crime… On Monday, the Pennsylvania State House passed a bill making the roads safe, aiding crime prevention and keeping innocent bystanders protected.

If the Senate passes this bill, and if Rendell approves it, it will allow Pennsylvania to collect $3 million as a signing bonus from the federal government for pushing the legislation through before the Oct. 1 deadline.

This bill lowers the blood alcohol content limit that people can have, and still legally operate a motor vehicle, from .1 to .08.

Roughly translated, a 170-pound man would reach a .08 BAC after having four alcoholic beverages in an hour; a 137-pound woman would need only three.

If that 170-pound man had four Jagermeister shots or Yuenglings in an hour, and then decided to take a drive, he could now be prosecuted and face up to a $300 fine and six months in jail.

In this situation, he is a danger to himself and others. There is no excuse for getting in a car mildly sloshed. And four drinks in an hour are enough to impair judgment and motor coordination.

Lowering these standards comes at the federal government’s behest. Pennsylvania either had to comply or face losing $12 million in federal highway funding.

Given the Bush administration’s other up-in-smoke attempts at crime prevention – cough, Operation Pipe Dreams, cough – this one seems grounded in practicality. Cheers to the federal government for putting its dollars where its sense is, namely into programs that would actually work.

Given Billy Gaines’s tragic death, after falling 25 feet with a BAC of .16, Pitt students should rally behind these regulations and acknowledge the dangers of not monitoring alcohol consumption and behavior while under the influence.

In addition to lowering the overall BAC limit for driving, this bill sets up a system for prosecuting drunk drivers. Those with a BAC from .08 to .099 would fall under “general impairment;” .1 to .15 would be “high rate;” and more than .16 is “highest rate,” according to a July 8 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article.

Drunk driving is not a victimless crime. Driving under the influence is dangerous, not only to the person doing it, but also to anyone else he or she might encounter.

People are injured or killed by drunk drivers each day. According to the Center for Alcohol Studies, alcohol plays a role in 40 percent of lethal crashes. The state Senate should pass these posthaste and make the state a safer place to live.