In 2017, Utah passed the nation's strictest blood alcohol limit for drivers, at .05%. That law took effect in 2019 and, in the last three years, data shows the roads have become less safe, with DUI related deaths steadily increasing.
A review by the Salt Lake Tribune begs the question of whether stricter, lower alcohol limits are targeting the wrong thing. The clear answer is yes, people under the old limit of .08 are not the driver's causing crashes. Instead, the data shows that those with higher blood alcohol levels, such as over .10, .15 or higher, should be the focus.
The author of the review, Robert Gehrke, said, "If we are targeting these people and putting them in jail for these marginal blood alcohol levels, we're not actually making the roads safer, we're just putting people in jail."
