Utah’s recent bill lowering the blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05 is another example of overreaching legislation creating an even more arbitrary “per se” crime that has little to no bearing on whether someone is actually impaired. With the implementation of House Bill 155, Utah will have the strictest drinking and driving law in the U.S.
Despite Gov. Gary Herbert’s statement that this new law is a public safety measure to target impaired drivers, there is no evidence to support the conclusion that most adults are actually impaired at a 0.05 blood alcohol level.
The Governor has indicated the bill will be fine-tuned before it goes into effect on December 30, 2018.