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20Jun 2019

Looking At Utah's New Lowest-In-The-Country BAC Limit

In January of this year, Utah became the first state in the country to 
implement a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) limit of .05, significantly 
lower than the standard .08, which has been in place for decades. To 
give you an idea of how stringent this limit is, for many people, one 
drink could put them over the limit.

So, what has this law accomplished so far? As of May 1, 38 people were arrested for
DUI with a BAC between .05 and .079. That is out of a total 
of 844 DUI arrests. Of those 38, seven were underage and 24 were 
individuals who were alcohol-restricted, meaning those previously 
convicted of DUI and therefore repeat offenders. Only seven individuals 
were arrested under the original premise of the law. And of those seven, 
two had other drugs in their system and four had no other issues than 
their BAC.

It seems to be clear that lower the BAC is not actually catching those 
who are a danger to the roads, but those who shouldn't be having 
alcohol. The law will most likely come under scrutiny. If you live in 
Burlington, Essex, Colchester, Winooski, Williston, Shelburne or 
anywhere in the State of Vermont, and have been arrested or charged with 
DUI or any crime, call Handy Law for aggressive and experienced legal 
defense.