Scoop: Richmond wants to push Virginia to lower BAC limit
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Richmond officials are considering asking Virginia lawmakers to drop the state's blood alcohol content limit from 0.08 to 0.05, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The move could pull Virginia into a growing national debate over lowering BAC limits to reduce alcohol-related crashes — a push that's repeatedly stalled in statehouses.
What they're saying: The proposal, tucked inside the city's latest Vision Zero draft obtained by Axios, argues that lowering the limit would discourage people from driving after drinking.
- It "reinforces the message that any amount of alcohol or drugs impairs drivers' behavior," the draft says.
By the numbers: Alcohol was involved in 37% of Richmond's 159 traffic deaths from 2017 to 2025, according to the city's Vision Zero dashboard.
- In 2025, it was involved in nine of the 21 traffic deaths, or 43%.
Reality check: The proposal appears to be in the early stages, and the city says Richmond's 2027 legislative agenda hasn't been finalized.
- Seven Richmond-area lawmakers told Axios on Tuesday that they hadn't heard about the idea or that it was too soon to weigh in.
How it works: Virginia can already prosecute someone for driving with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.08 if there's other evidence of impairment.
- But lowering the limit would mean a BAC of 0.05 alone would be enough to violate the state's DUI law.
- The Virginia DMV says at 0.05% BAC, drivers have "difficulty steering and a reduced response to emergency situations."
State of play: Utah is the only state to have lowered its standard limit to 0.05 after the National Transportation Safety Board recommended a nationwide limit drop in 2013.
- Hawaii, New York and Washington have considered similar measures in recent years, but efforts have fallen short.
- Supporters often point to federal data showing Utah's fatal crash rate fell nearly 20% between 2016 and 2019 — comparing the year before the law passed to its first full year in effect.
- Last month, Seattle's mayor directed the city to lobby state lawmakers to lower Washington's limit to help prevent traffic deaths.
Zoom in: The debate surfaced in Virginia in 2013 after the NTSB's recommendation.
- State Sen. Scott Surovell, then a Northern Virginia delegate, questioned its enforceability at the time, reported Virginia Lawyers Weekly.
- In 2022, the Virginia State Crime Commission identified a lower BAC limit as a DUI countermeasure but stopped short of recommending a change to Virginia's threshold.
Yes, but: Two Richmond-area lawmakers, Republican state Sen. Glen Sturtevant and Democratic Del. Charlie Schmidt, told Axios that Virginia should instead focus on marijuana and other drug-impaired driving, where police lack an equivalent to an alcohol breathalyzer.
- Schmidt said he "could be convinced" on lowering the BAC if data shows a lower limit improves public safety, but he added that "harsher penalties rarely translate to changing behaviors."
- Virginia's own research, before the retail weed market launch next year, has noted that detecting THC impairment is more complicated.
What we're watching: Whether the idea makes it into Richmond's final legislative agenda and whether a state lawmaker is willing to carry it.