LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed into law a bill from state Rep. Patrick Green (D-Warren), extending until 2021 a Michigan law making a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 the legal limit for operating a vehicle. Without Rep. Green’s House Bill 4548, the 0.08 threshold would have ended on Oct. 1, 2018, and the legal limit would have reverted to 0.1. Rep. Green’s bill was paired with Rep. Klint Kesto’s (R-Walled Lake) HB 4547, which updated the changes in the sentencing guidelines.
“Research shows the risk of unsafe driving and life-threatening accidents rises remarkably between a blood alcohol content of 0.08 and 0.1, so maintaining this threshold empowers law enforcement officers to keep dangerous drivers off the roads,” Rep. Green said. “I’m glad to have worked in a bipartisan manner on policy to keep our roads safe and save Michigan lives.”
Since the 0.08 blood alcohol limit was first enacted in Michigan in 2003, the state has seen a lower number of alcohol-related crashes and traffic deaths. According to the Michigan State Police, overall Michigan traffic deaths increased 10 percent between 2015 and 2016, but alcohol-involved traffic deaths fell by 11 percent.
"Drunk driving causes tragedies that we cannot allow to happen," Rep. Green said. "I’m proud to be part of a solution to reduce drunken driving and protect the lives of Michigan drivers, passengers and pedestrians.”