Teenagers applying for drivers licenses in California have been for years keenly aware of the .08 standard, and many of them scrupulously avoid alcohol altogether. Similarly, young people in their 20s and 30s have adjusted their habits to include the taking of mass transit when they are out celebrating and partying. Still others have taken to walking home, particularly in summer when the weather permits. Hosts at private parties and get-togethers in California are getting smarter, too. They offer coffee or plain water at the end of the evening, and encourage guests to sit for an hour, sober up, and watch late night TV before driving home.
Many hosts insist that obviously intoxicated partygoers sleep over.
They offer beds, sofas and sleeping bags to guests. Some hotelkeepers in California offer free taxis home or discounted hotel room rates to celebrants at wedding receptions or other galas taking place at hotel ballrooms. So Mr. Fornabai is correct that a low per se standard poses an array of new problems in the courtroom, but in California the law does have the intended effect of changing society s perceptions of what constitutes responsible behavior. Legislators pass laws with the goal of changing the behavior of ordinary people. The .08 law in Washington will prove to be a good law if it has an impact upon how people use alcohol and what choices people make in connection with that use.