States aim to curb DUI with higher restrictions

By SARAH CASSI
Collegian Staff Writer

By the time one of your classes is over today, two people will have died because of drunk driving.

At the end of the day, 45 people will have been killed for the same reason.

Every 32 minutes, someone dies in an accident involving alcohol, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Several states including Pennsylvania hope to decrease alcohol-related traffic fatalities number by passing legislation to lower the blood-alcohol content level defining what is legally considered drunk to .08 percent.

"We all know 'don't drink and drive,' but it doesn't seem to stick," said Karin Killian, administrative assistant to the director of Intervention Instruction Inc.

The program that provides education and counseling for first-time offenders of driving under the influence.

"The dangerous population of drunk drivers are 21- to 34-year-olds," she said.

"They have the highest BAC of DUI offenders and are the greatest risk -- one out of three in that age group is going to be a repeat offender. They don't stop and think."

Half of the drunk drivers make up involved in fatal crashes are 21- to 34-year-olds, said Terrance Schiavone, president of the National Commission Against Drunk Driving.

"(Eight hundredths of a percent) is the amount of alcohol compared to your blood volume," said Schiavone.

"In order to reach .08 percent, a 170-pound man would have to drink four alcoholic drinks and a woman would have to drink three alcoholic drinks in the period of an hour."

John Doyle, director of communication for the American Beverage Institute, which represents more than 5,000 restaurants in the United States, said the law does not address the issue of drunk driving.

"The law attacks responsible social drinkers," he said.

"A social drinker says 'I'm going to have whatever amount of alcohol I feel is safe to drive.' Nobody knows his or her exact blood alcohol level. It's personal interpretation."

Clifford Lutz, supervisor for Penn State Police Services, does not think social drinkers would have a problem with the law.

"I don't believe a responsible social drinker would reach .08 percent," he said. "As for personal interpretation, the first part of the brain to be affected when you drink allows you to do logical reasoning.

By the time you reach .08 percent, that part of the brain has been impaired."

Penn State students who are arrested for driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence are prosecuted through the county court system, he said.

Though Doyle said the .08-percent law cannot be associated with any life-saving effects, Killian believes differently.

"Lowering the BAC doesn't necessarily mean the number of offenders decreases," she said.

"But it means more people are aware of how easy it can be to be arrested for DUI. It can only help," she added.