There are both state and national initiatives to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers, but they face a battle from hospitality industry lobbyists. Pressure is building in Rhode Island and nationally to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers from the current level of .10, to .08.
Scientists agree that that much alcohol impairs just about anybody.
But the .08 battle has been a lost cause at the State House for the past eight years, where a coalition of liquor-industry lobbyists and defense lawyers has sunk it every time. This year, support for the .08 standard is coming from all directions. Governor Almond has vowed to fight for .08 in Rhode Island, as has the new Rhode Island Coalition for Traffic Safety, made up of more than 30 people representing state agencies, police, the insurance and health-care industries and advocacy groups such as the Brain Injury Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They're up against savvy adversaries. The opposing team, which fields at least 17 paid lobbyists for the liquor and hospitality industries, is buttressed by lawyers, many of whom represent clients before the state traffic court.