As of today (
October 24, 2000), in the
United States, the
national blood alcohol level that will get one nabbed for
Driving Under the Influence (
DUI) is
.08. The
legislation defining this new
standard was signed into law by President
William Clinton. Immediately, this has little effect. But, it is likely that individual states will move to adpot this new definition, or face having some
federal highway funds withheld (A significant number of states have already adopted this new level prior to the new law).
Compliance is expected within 2-3 years. After that time, funds are withheld, but states who adopt the new measure as late as
2007 will have an opportunity to reclaim some of those funds.
As an example: A woman of 120 pounds, drinking 2 six ounce glasses of wine on an empty stomach within 2 hours will likely be at the .08 level.
Why one would drink on an empty stomach is another issue entirely.
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A gentle and timely reminder from a noder leads me to note that this information was garnered from National Public Radio (NPR).