Study: Utah's lower DUI limit reduced crashes
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The share of traffic wrecks involving alcohol dropped in Utah after the state reduced the blood-alcohol concentration DUI limit from 0.08 to 0.05%, per a new analysis.
Why it matters: Critics characterized the reduction as a performative measure that could hurt restaurants in an effort to enforce Utah's anti-alcohol religious culture.
- Most drivers in fatal DUI crashes were well above the 0.08% limit.
Catch up quick: The BAC limit for driving was reduced in 2018, making Utah's DUI law the strictest in the nation.
- Two drinks in an hour may push an adult over that limit.
By the numbers: In a study released this week, researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the share of all crashes that involved alcohol dropped about 8% when the lawmakers passed the measure in 2017.
- That dropped another 9% when it took effect a year and a half later.
- The drop in crashes causing injury was even more dramatic, with alcohol involved in a 12% lower share of all crashes after the BAC reduction.
Caveat: Drunk driving spiked in Utah with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, just like the rest of the country.
Yes, but: Unlike in neighboring states, the share of crashes involving alcohol has returned close to the rate before the pandemic and after the BAC limit was lowered, researchers found.
Zoom out: Most other states have a BAC limit of 0.08%, which federal agencies require to receive highway construction funding.
Between the lines: Utah's unusual drinking culture, driven by Latter-day Saint teachings against alcohol, makes the state hard to compare to others, researchers acknowledged.
What they're saying: "The base level of alcohol-involved crashes in Utah was relatively low, making it harder to move the needle," the IIHS wrote in a statement. "... The effect in other states could be even larger."