For nearly four decades, residents in Connecticut have been exposed to a strong increase in education about the dangers of drunk driving. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was founded in 1980 and, since then, many other groups and law enforcement agencies have worked together to get the message out that drinking and driving really do not mix.
When MADD was first established, most states in the country identified a blood alcohol content of 0.10 percent as the threshold at or over which a driver was considered legally drunk. Then, in 1983, the state of Utah made what was then a bold move by lowering that limit to 0.08 percent. In the subsequent twenty years, all remaining 49 states and the District of Columbia did the same.
In 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board urged all states in the nation to once again lower the drunk driving limit to 0.05 percent according to Quartz. Over the past five years, Washington, Hawaii, Utah, Delaware and New York have considered making this change. The effort to update the drunk driving laws to the reduced limit failed in four out of five of these states but passed in Utah.
Starting on December 30, 2018, any driver in Utah with a BAC of 0.05 percent or greater may be charged with drunk driving. For some people, the 0.05 percent threshold may be reached after one or two drinks. This move is one that people in all states should watch as it may not end up being limited to Utah if other states follow their lead as they did in the 1980s and 1990s.