{"id":2953,"date":"2025-01-14T11:28:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T18:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/lovick\/?p=2953"},"modified":"2025-01-14T11:29:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T18:29:46","slug":"lovick-bill-to-reduce-bac-limit-to-05-heard-in-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/lovick\/2025\/01\/14\/lovick-bill-to-reduce-bac-limit-to-05-heard-in-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"Lovick bill to reduce BAC limit to .05% heard in committee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE \u2013 Jan. 14, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>OLYMPIA<\/strong> \u2013 Legislation to prevent drunken driving and reduce fatalities was heard in the Senate Law &amp; Justice Committee Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary\/?BillNumber=5067&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\">Senate Bill 5067<\/a>, sponsored by Sen. John Lovick (D-Mill Creek), would reduce the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit \u2014 when someone is considered to be driving under the influence \u2014 from .08% to .05%.According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), traffic fatalities are at the <a href=\"https:\/\/wtsc.wa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/11_State-of-the-State_May2024.pdf\">highest number since 1990<\/a>, having increased 20% since 2021. In 2023, 810 people were killed in fatal crashes \u2014 over half involved an impaired driver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImpairment starts after the first drink,\u201d Lovick said. \u201cEvery day, someone in Washington is killed in a DUI-related collision. Those collisions are completely preventable. We know lowering the BAC limit will save lives. It\u2019s time to pass this bill \u2014 people deserve to be safe, and feel safe, on our roads.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4448946\/#R5\">Research<\/a> has shown drivers with BACs between .05% and .079% are at least seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal collision compared to sober drivers. National Traffic Safety Board <a href=\"https:\/\/chrome-extension:\/efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj\/https:\/www.ntsb.gov\/Advocacy\/safety-topics\/Documents\/SafetyBriefing-March2019.pdf\">data<\/a> shows lowering the BAC limit broadly deters drunk driving, reducing the number of people who decide to drive after consuming alcohol.<\/p>\n<p>In Utah, where lawmakers passed a similar bill in 2022, 22.1% of drivers <a href=\"https:\/\/wtsc.wa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/dlm_uploads\/2023\/01\/WTSC_.05-BAC-fact-sheet_Dec-2022.pdf\">reported<\/a> changing their behavior because of the law. Alcohol sales, tax revenues, and tourism remained largely unchanged. SB 5067 specifies it does not change any current law related to the civil liability of licensed commercial or quasi-commercial alcohol vendors.<\/p>\n<p>If enacted, the bill would task the WTSC with implementing a public information campaign to make people aware of the state law change. It would take effect July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Follow the bill\u2019s progress <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary\/?BillNumber=5067&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=false\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE \u2013 Jan. 14, 2024 OLYMPIA \u2013 Legislation to prevent drunken driving and reduce fatalities was heard in the Senate Law &amp; Justice Committee Tuesday. Senate Bill 5067, sponsored by Sen. John Lovick (D-Mill Creek), would reduce the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit \u2014 when someone is considered to be driving under the influence \u2014 from .08% to .05%.According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), traffic fatalities are at the highest number since 1990, having increased 20% since 2021. In 2023, 810 people were killed in fatal crashes \u2014 over half involved an impaired driver. \u201cImpairment starts&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":2919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lovick bill to reduce BAC limit to .05% heard in committee - Sen. 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John Lovick (D-Mill Creek), would reduce the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit \u2014 when someone is considered to be driving under the influence \u2014 from .08% to .05%.According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), traffic fatalities are at the highest number since 1990, having increased 20% since 2021. In 2023, 810 people were killed in fatal crashes \u2014 over half involved an impaired driver. \u201cImpairment starts...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/lovick\/2025\/01\/14\/lovick-bill-to-reduce-bac-limit-to-05-heard-in-committee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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