Source: http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/Blood_Alcohol_Concentration_Limits_Adult_Operators_of_Noncommercial_Motor_Vehicles.html
Timestamp: 2016-12-03 17:46:06
Document Index: 376587793

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 4', '§ 634', '§ 911', '§ 163', '§ 405', '§ 4', '§ 634', '§ 405', '§ 405']

Home > APIS Policy Topics > Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles
(Period Covered: 1/1/1998 through 1/1/2015) This policy topic covers laws addressing blood alcohol concentration limits applicable to drivers of noncommercial automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles who have reached the legal drinking age of 21 years. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a measure of the amount of alcohol in a person's bloodstream. BAC is commonly expressed in percentage terms. For instance, having a BAC of 0.08 percent means that a person has eight parts alcohol per 10,000 parts blood in the body. State laws generally specify BAC levels in terms of grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood (often abbreviated as grams per deciliter, or g/dL). BAC levels can be detected by breath, blood, or urine tests. The laws of each jurisdiction specify the preferred or required types of tests used for measurement.
Explanatory Notes and Limitations for Blood Alcohol Concentration Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles Explanatory Notes and Limitations Specifically Applicable to Blood Alcohol Concentration Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles This review examines only the specific BAC laws for drivers of noncommercial motor vehicles in each State and the District of Columbia and the specific Federal legislation cited. This review does not address the following issues related to BAC limit laws:
Explanatory Notes and Limitations Applicable to All APIS Policy Topics State law may permit local jurisdictions to impose requirements in addition to those mandated by State law. Alternatively, State law may prohibit local legislation on this topic, thereby preempting local powers. For more information on the preemption doctrine, see the About Alcohol Policy page. APIS does not document policies established by local governments. In addition to statutes and regulations, judicial decisions (case law) also may affect alcohol-related policies. APIS does not review case law except to determine whether judicial decisions have invalidated statutes or regulations that would otherwise affect the data presented in the comparison tables. APIS reviews published administrative regulations. However, administrative decisions or directives that are not included in a State's published regulatory codes may have an impact on implementation. This possibility has not been addressed by the APIS research. Statutes and regulations cited in tables on this policy topic may have been amended or repealed after the specific date or time period specified by the site user's search criteria. If a conflict exists between a statute and a regulation addressing the same legal issue, APIS coding relies on the statute. A comprehensive understanding of the data presented in the comparison tables for this policy topic requires examination of the applicable Row Notes and Jurisdiction Notes, which can be accessed from the body of the table via links in the Jurisdiction column. Federal Law for Blood Alcohol Concentration Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles (Policies in effect on: 1/1/2015) BAC limits on Federal properties vary according to the type of lands involved, the Federal agency responsible for their regulation, and the geographic and jurisdictional relationships of any specific Federal land to contiguous privately owned land or land under the jurisdiction of other governmental entities. For Federal lands under the administration of the National Park Service, a 0.08 per se BAC limit has been operative since September 5, 2003. The applicable regulation applies to drivers who operate a vehicle on roadways or in parking areas within all park areas open to public traffic and that are under the legislative jurisdiction of the United States [36 C.F.R. § 4.23]. It also provides that "if State law that applies to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol establishes more restrictive limits of alcohol concentration in the operator's blood or breath, those limits supersede the limits specified in this paragraph." A 0.08% blood alcohol concentration standard is the law on military installations, which are administered by the Department of Defense [32 C.F.R. § 634.34]. Operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of 0.10% or more is also a violation under the Uniform Code of Military Justice [10 U.S.C. § 911]. Other types of Federal properties administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture are not amenable to a national BAC limit different from those established by the laws of the states in which the land is located. For example, some Federal properties are interspersed among State and privately owned tracts lacking clearly defined boundaries. For these lands, BAC legal limits vary. Indian tribes are domestic dependent sovereigns that have the right of self-government. As such, approximately 200 tribes across the nation have enacted their own BAC limit laws. In 1998, the Administration called for widespread adoption of 0.08 BAC levels across the country and on Federal property[1]. Congress passed two laws to spur such action. In 1998, Congress created incentive grant programs for States that moved toward adoption and enforcement of stricter BAC laws. Then, in 2000, Federal legislation was adopted that required each State to pass a per se 0.08 BAC law by 2004 or lose a portion of Federal highway funds. See [23 U.S.C. § 163]. More recently, Congress passed legislation providing for incentive grants to States that adopt and implement programs to reduce driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or the combination of alcohol and drugs, including programs for improving BAC testing and reporting [23 U.S.C. § 405]. Excerpts from these laws appear below.
36 C.F.R. § 4.23 Code of Federal Regulations
32 C.F.R. § 634.34 Code of Federal Regulations
23 U.S.C. § 405
§ 405. National priority safety programs
(a) General authority.--Subject to the requirements of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall manage programs to address national priorities for reducing highway deaths and injuries. Funds shall be allocated according to the priorities set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2).
(1) Grants to States.--
(C) Impaired driving countermeasures.--52.5 percent of the funds provided under this section in each fiscal year shall be allocated among States that meet the requirements of the impaired driving countermeasures (as described in subsection (d)).
(d) Impaired driving countermeasures.--
(1) In general.--Subject to the requirements under this subsection, the Secretary of Transportation shall award grants to States that adopt and implement--
(A) effective programs to reduce driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or the combination of alcohol and drugs; or
(B) alcohol-ignition interlock laws.
(3) Eligibility.--
(A) Low-range States.--Low-range States shall be eligible for a grant under this subsection.
(B) Mid-range States.--A mid-range State shall be eligible for a grant under this subsection if--
(i) a statewide impaired driving task force in the State developed a statewide plan during the most recent 3 calendar years to address the problem of impaired driving; or
(ii) the State will convene a statewide impaired driving task force to develop such a plan during the first year of the grant.
(C) High-range States.--A high-range State shall be eligible for a grant under this subsection if the State--
(i)(I) conducted an assessment of the State's impaired driving program during the most recent 3 calendar years; or
(II) will conduct such an assessment during the first year of the grant;
(ii) convenes, during the first year of the grant, a statewide impaired driving task force to develop a statewide plan that--
(I) addresses any recommendations from the assessment conducted under clause (i);
(II) includes a detailed plan for spending any grant funds provided under this subsection; and
(III) describes how such spending supports the statewide program; and
(iii)(I) submits the statewide plan to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during the first year of the grant for the agency's review and approval;
(II) annually updates the statewide plan in each subsequent year of the grant; and
(III) submits each updated statewide plan for the agency's review and comment.
(4) Use of grant amounts.--
(A) Required programs.--High-range States shall use grant funds for--
(i) high visibility enforcement efforts; and
(ii) any of the activities described in subparagraph (B) if--
(I) the activity is described in the statewide plan; and
(II) the Secretary approves the use of funding for such activity.
(B) Authorized programs.--Medium-range and low-range States may use grant funds for--
(i) any of the purposes described in subparagraph (A);
(ii) hiring a full-time or part-time impaired driving coordinator of the State's activities to address the enforcement and adjudication of laws regarding driving while impaired by alcohol;
(iii) court support of high visibility enforcement efforts, training and education of criminal justice professionals (including law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and probation officers) to assist such professionals in handling impaired driving cases, hiring traffic safety resource prosecutors, hiring judicial outreach liaisons, and establishing driving while intoxicated courts;
(vi) paid and earned media in support of high visibility enforcement efforts, and conducting standardized field sobriety training, advanced roadside impaired driving evaluation training, and drug recognition expert training for law enforcement, and equipment and related expenditures used in connection with impaired driving enforcement in accordance with criteria established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration;
(vii) training on the use of alcohol screening and brief intervention;
(viii) developing impaired driving information systems; and
(ix) costs associated with a 24-7 sobriety program.
(C) Other programs.--Low-range States may use grant funds for any expenditure designed to reduce impaired driving based on problem identification. Medium and high-range States may use funds for such expenditures upon approval by the Secretary.
(5) Grant amount.--Subject to paragraph (6), the allocation of grant funds to a State under this section for a fiscal year shall be in proportion to the State's apportionment under section 402(c) for fiscal year 2009.
(6) Grants to States that adopt and enforce mandatory alcohol-ignition interlock laws.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make a separate grant under this subsection to each State that adopts and is enforcing a mandatory alcohol-ignition interlock law for all individuals convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or of driving while intoxicated.
(B) Use of funds.--Grants authorized under subparagraph (A) may be used by recipient States for any eligible activities under this subsection or section 402.
(C) Allocation.--Amounts made available under this paragraph shall be allocated among States described in subparagraph (A) on the basis of the apportionment formula set forth in section 402(c).
(D) Funding.--Not more than 15 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this subsection in a fiscal year shall be made available by the Secretary for making grants under this paragraph.
(A) 24-7 sobriety program.--The term “24-7 sobriety program” means a State law or program that authorizes a State court or a State agency, as a condition of sentence, probation, parole, or work permit, to--
(i) require an individual who plead guilty or was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs to totally abstain from alcohol or drugs for a period of time; and
(ii) require the individual to be subject to testing for alcohol or drugs--
(I) at least twice per day;
(II) by continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring via an electronic monitoring device; or
(III) by an alternate method with the concurrence of the Secretary.
(B) Average impaired driving fatality rate.--The term “average impaired driving fatality rate” means the number of fatalities in motor vehicle crashes involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.08 percent for every 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled, based on the most recently reported 3 calendar years of final data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, as calculated in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
(C) High-range state.--The term “high-range State” means a State that has an average impaired driving fatality rate of 0.60 or higher.
(D) Low-range state.--The term “low-range State” means a State that has an average impaired driving fatality rate of 0.30 or lower.
(E) Mid-range state.--The term “mid-range State” means a State that has an average impaired driving fatality rate that is higher than 0.30 and lower than 0.60.
Selected References for Blood Alcohol Concentration Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles Barry, A.E., Chaney, B.H., and Stellefson, M.L. Breath alcohol concentrations of designated drivers. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 74(4):509-13, July 2013.
Brady, J.E., & Li, G. (2012). Prevalence of alcohol and other drugs in fatally injured drivers. Addiction 108(1), 104-114. DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03993.x. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3467360/ .
Macinko, J., & Silver, D. (2015). Diffusion of impaired driving laws among U.S. states. American Journal of Public Health 105(9), 1893-1900. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302670.
Phillips, D.P., Sousa, A.L.R., and Moshfegh, R.T. Official blame for drivers with very low blood alcohol content: There is no safe combination of drinking and driving. Injury Prevention January 7, 2014. (doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2013-040925).
Ramstedt, M. Alcohol and fatal accidents in the United States–A time series analysis for 1950–2002. Accident Analysis & Prevention 40(4):1273-1281, 2008.
Scheetz, L.J. (2015). One for the road: A comparison of drinking and driving behavior among younger and older adults involved in fatal crashes. Journal of Trauma Nursing 22(4), 187-93. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JTN.0000000000000141 .
Voas, R.B., Torres, P, Romano, E, and Lacey, J.H. (2012). Alcohol-related risk of driver fatalities: An update using 2007 data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 73(3):341-350. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302670.
Xuan, Z., Blanchette, J.G., Nelson, T.F., Heeren, T.C. Nguyen,T.H., & Naimi, T.S. (2015). Alcohol policies and impaired driving in the United States: Effects of driving- vs. drinking-oriented policies. The International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research ISSN 1925-7066. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v2i0.205 . Retrieved from http://www.ijadr.org/index.php/ijadr/article/view/205/335 .
Zaloshnja, E., Miller, T.R., & Lawrence, B.A. (2015, April 30). Economics of alcohol-involved traffic crashes in the USA: An input-output analysis. Injury Prevention. DOI: 10.1136/injuryprev-2014-041485.
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limits: Operators of Recreational WatercraftBlood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limits: Youth (Underage Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles)