The following editorial originally appeared in the National Motorists Association News, and is reprinted here with permission.
Emotions run rampant and misinformation is the rule.
At face value, it's a straight forward uncomplicated standard that everyone should understand. For the police, the courts, the government and the insurance industry, it's a wonderful system. It's seemingly precise, black and white, and easily administered. As long as the legal BAC was reasonably high, for example, .12 or .15, it was a fair indicator of unreasonable impairment. Unfortunately, today its use is arbitrary, unfair and a tool of abuse.