NTSB Recommends .05 Legal Limit For Alcohol

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Dropping the legal limit for being over the limit. The National Transportation Safety Board recommends people who have a blood alcohol level of .05 be considered drunk.

Political reporter Pat Warren explains it's a top recommendation for eliminating drunk driving.

The NTSB says part of its mission is to prevent accidents--and that includes planes, trains and automobiles.

Drunk driving is one of the biggest causes of highway accidents and fatalities. The NTSB would drop the recommended legal blood alcohol content, or BAC, from .08 to .05.

"Ultimately .05 means there's going to be less alcohol on the roads. And if we have less alcohol on the roads, we're all going to be safer," said Bella Dinh Zarr, NTSB.

Most states take their cue from the National Highway Safety Administration at .08. In Maryland, it's .07.

"Our  bigger concern is the almost 40 percent of drivers that test at a .15 blood alcohol concentration or higher," said Tom Woodward, Maryland Highway Safety Office.

Reporter: "Do you have any idea how many drinks you can have before you're considered driving under the influence?"

Driver 1: "I think it's probably two or three. Yes."

Driver 2: "I really am not that familiar, not certain."

But how can you tell?

In one sample, it's estimated that a 160 pound man who consumes two 12 ounce beers or standard drinks on an empty stomach and waits an hour would have a blood alcohol content of .04, but there are many factors to count.

"I just know at my age, that even one drink, I can feel it," one driver said.

"There's just so many things that come into play that we hate to even take a guess at that," said Woodward.

The safest number would be zero, and the NTSB wants to head in that direction.

The NTSB says other countries have found the lower limit to have an impact on DUI.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has not taken a position on .05.