During the decade of the 1980s, most states dropped the standard for Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) from .15 to .10. The 1990s saw a dozen states lower the standard again - to .08. This standard is expected to be adopted nationwide thanks to approval in Congress last year of a provision which will cost states federal dollars for failing to okay .08.

 Still, Americans lag behind their European counterparts. Recent scientific research shows that a person with .05 BAC is twice as likely to cause an alcohol-related crash as a completely sober driver. More than half the states that make up the European Union have instituted laws mandating .05 or .06 as the new standard. Sweden has an even more strict standard of .02. 

From Monday Morning Report, April 25, 2001.

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