Pa. DUI limit falling to 0.08 just in time to meet U.S. deadline
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With the state’s lower DUI limit set to be signed into law mere hours before a federal deadline elapses, opponents of the 0.08 threshold remain unconvinced that it will make Pennsylvania roads any safer or cut down on the number of drunken-driving fatalities. The state House of Representatives yesterday approved the new limit and the new law, which creates a three-tiered punishment system for DUI offenders. Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to sign the legislation today. The Senate approved it Wednesday. The 0.08 limit takes effect the minute the governor signs it, but the law’s new penalty system won’t be in place until Feb. 1. To comply with a federal mandate, states are required to reduce the blood alcohol level at which a driver is considered drunk to 0.08 by tomorrow. The limit in Pennsylvania now stands at 0.10. The new law, said state Rep. Rick Geist, R-Altoona, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, is a complete makeover of the state’s 22-year-old DUI statute. If the legislation hadn’t been approved, the state would have forgone nearly $12 million in federal highway funds this year. An additional $22 million was at stake if the state hadn’t approved changes to laws that deal with repeat DUI offenders. The new lower limit may make bar patrons be a little more conscious of their alcohol intake, according to employees at drinking establishments in the Pittsburgh area, but it should not bring major changes in either alcohol use or business. “I think it will cause a decline, but I don’t think it will be very sharp,” said Matt Biancaniello, a manager at the Sports Rock Cafe in the Strip District. “You may see more people using cabs. There are still a lot of people, especially young people, who are still going to drink the same.” Some bars have talked about how they can help their customers, outside of the usual decision not to serve someone who is visibly intoxicated. At Moondog’s in Blawnox, a plan is under discussion to line up a shuttle on weekend nights to taxi customers home or to a central parking location, said bartender Billy Maxim. Moondog’s has also moved up the starting time of their shows so bands will end their sets earlier to allow customers time to drink soft drinks or eat something before they head outside, she said. The bar, which features blues acts on the weekends, has also considered serving food later to offset the alcohol intake of customers, she said. Among its other provisions, the new law, creates distinct punishments for DUI offenders caught driving with children in the car and increasingly stiffer penalties based on a driver’s blood alcohol level. And it remands most first- and second-offense cases to a nonjury trial. The law also requires repeat DUI offenders to have ignition locking systems installed in their cars, preventing the cars from starting unless the driver is sober. “These measures will save lives across Pennsylvania,” as well as eventually reduce the number of DUI deaths and DUI cases overall, Geist said. Matt McKinley, who lives in a Philadelphia suburb, isn’t so certain. “It’s locking up the wrong people. Your problem drinkers aren’t at 0.09. They’re at 0.15. They’re the ones that are really causing the problems, getting in the serious wrecks.” |