THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010030
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
A new standard of drunken driving and boating takes effect in Virginia today. The change, from .10 to .08 blood-alcohol percentage, is a triumph for those who waged a long campaign for tougher laws and an enhancement of public safety.
The adjustment is just in time for the long Fourth of July celebration, which for too many people still means operating a car or boat while impaired by alcohol; and for National Sobriety Checkpoint Week, during which state and local police and the Coast Guard will be stopping motorists and boaters.
At a sobriety checkpoint last December on the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway, state and Virginia Beach police arrested 15 drunken drivers in four hours. That would seem to say the July 4 weekend is a good time to put safety first.
Drunken driving always has been treacherous - often fatal - and foolish, yet there are those who continue to make it a habit. Now, with a lower standard of drunkenness and stricter laws to deal with those who disregard the safety of themselves and others, maybe the message of consequences will be clearer.
Motorists and boaters of every age have a clear choice: Forget about operating a car or boat while impaired or risk losing your license, paying a stiff fine and/or going to jail.
The lower blood-alcohol percentage, a stiff fine and immediate license suspension for anyone under age 21 caught driving after drinking and impoundment of a drunken driver's car if his license is suspended from an earlier alcohol-related offense all are in the best interest of everyone taking to the road. Even with the good news of declining alcohol-related highway fatalities and growing popularity of designated drivers and booze-free events, the sad fact is that alcohol was involved in nearly half of the 368 fatalities on Virginia roads between May and September 1993.
Starting Jan. 1, motorists who refuse a breath test, or fail one, will have their license revoked for seven days by the arresting officer.
The bottom-line message remains: Don't drink and operate an automobile or boat - over the Fourth of July or ever. by CNB