.1 for the road

Seeing the need for a federal standard for drunken driving should be as easy as following the double yellow lines on the highway. Alcohol plays a part in more than 40 percent of traffic fatalities, producing unlimited amounts of misery, pain and death. A tough OUI law reduces the amount of drunken driving, making the roads safer for everyone. A national blood alcohol level limit of .08 would bring all states into compliance with the same tough standard.

Congress recently finished debating such a standard, but along the way the yellow lines they were following seemed to have gotten sort of wavy and then veered off the road altogether.

Knowing the connection between alcohol consumption and traffic fatalities, the bill’s sponsors wanted to give states three years to come into compliance with the .08 level — which Maine and 14 other states already meet — or risk losing federal funds. The withholding of funds is a familiar tactic, designed to remind states that their decisions can cost everyone else and has been credited with persuading states to move the drinking age back up to 21.

With bipartisan support and the White House’s encouragement, the OUI bill moved along as well as anything can move in Congress and then — party time! — the booze lobby got generous. It couldn’t stop a bill as practical and well-understood as this one, but it could take the sting out of it. It got the attention of Congress with some hefty campaign donations, then persuaded members to drop the monetary penalties for noncompliance and instead give more money for compliance.

The added $500 million may get the remaining 35 states — where the blood-level limit is .10 — to toughen their laws but it seems like an expensive way to provide public safety. The federal government got involved because some in Congress recognized that roads don’t stop at state borders and saving an estimated 600 lives annually made the federal intrusion worth it. The alcohol lobby responded by serving up enough campaign money to make these simple ideas seem sort of fuzzy, and the resulting legislation reflects that.