Group Pushes For Lower DUI Standard in Utah

October 16, 2013

A conservative think tank and advocate for harsher liquor laws in Utah is pushing to lower the legal limit for a driver’s blood alcohol level, arguing it would reduce roadway deaths.

The Salt Lake City-based nonprofit Sutherland Institute wants to lower the limit to 0.05, from 0.08 percent.

The Deseret News reported the institute has invited a researcher on the topic to give a presentation to Utah lawmakers on Wednesday.

James Fell is a senior researcher at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Alcohol, Policy and Safety Research Center in Calverton, Md.

He says studies show most people experience a decline in both cognitive and visual functions at a blood alcohol content of 0.05 percent.

Utah has some of the most stringent liquor laws in the nation.

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