According to a recent study conducted by the University of California, San Diego, a driver having as low as 0.01 percent blood alcohol content (BAC) level can still be considered as drunk driver since such BAC level in a person may still cause a fatal vehicle accident.
The researchers reportedly analyzed 570,731 fatal crashes recorded by the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System from 1994 to 2011. The data included information regarding BAC levels associated with the vehicle accidents, in increases of 0.01 percent.
Researchers found out that a remarkable level of blame for being the cause of a car accident increased from BAC of 0.01 percent, all the way up to 0.24 percent. Blame was assessed using 50 different factors, which include driving on the wrong side of the road.
So far, the standard legal limit for BAC is 0.08 percent. However, the National Transportation Safety Board is calling several states to lower it to 0.05 percent.
In an overall assessment, it seems that combining drinking and driving is really not a good idea. It appears that even minimally intoxicated drivers have an increased risk of fatal car crashes not only to themselves but as well as to the others.
In Los Angeles, where fatal incidences of drunk driving often occur, authorities should probably focus more on extending drunk driving to ‘buzzed’ driving, commented by our very own, vehicle accident lawyer.
