Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994 TAG: 9402160074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The Senate voted 35-4 Tuesday to lower the blood-alcohol content required for automatic conviction of driving under the influence in Virginia from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent.
The action virtually guarantees that 0.08 will become law July 1. The House already has approved a similar measure, and Gov. George Allen supports the change.
The legislation means that a 160-pound man who consumes more than four drinks in an hour would risk being convicted of drunken driving. A 120-pound woman who downed more than three drinks in an hour also would be driving illegally.
"This is not burdensome or unreasonable," said state Sen. Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg, sponsor of the bill. "Most social drinkers never get to the level described in this bill. Other states that have adopted this level have found they have saved lives."
But opponents said the bill would penalize social tipplers while doing nothing new to take chronic drinkers off the street.
"If a husband and wife go out to dinner and split a bottle of wine, we're saying neither one can legally drive home," said Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Springfield. "We're taking these people and turning them into potential criminals."
Norment countered that research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has concluded that a 0.08 blood-alcohol content is the point at which most drivers begin experiencing impairment in concentration, judgment and their abilities to steer, brake and stay in a lane.
Voting against the legislation were Saslaw; Charles Hawkins, R-Chatham; Minority Leader Joseph Benedetti, R-Richmond; and Kevin Miller, R-Harrisonburg.
Saslaw accused his colleagues of answering the public demand for a drunken-driving crackdown with irresponsible legislation. He challenged them to make it illegal for anyone to have just one drink and drive.
"We ought to quit horsing around and give everyone in this room a chance to go home and tell voters `I stopped liquor by the drink in the commonwealth,' " Saslaw cracked.
Although both chambers of the General Assembly agree on the 0.08 standard, the House bill includes additional sanctions against drunken drivers.
The House bill would require authorities to immediately revoke for seven days the license of anyone with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 of more. Allen opposes the mandatory revocation, saying citizens should have a court hearing before they're deprived of the right to drive.
The House bill also would mandate a six-month license suspension and $500 fine for anyone under 21 caught driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.02 percent or higher. In addition, authorities would be required to impound the car of a drunken driver for 30 days if his or her license had been suspended or revoked for previous drunken-driving violations.
The House and Senate likely will iron out their differences in a conference committee early next month.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.