Clinton Endorses Uniform Drunken Driving Limit

President says he wants a .08 limit in all 50 states

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 3) -- President Bill Clinton joined the campaign Tuesday to enact a uniform, national blood alcohol level standard for drunken driving.

Clinton promised congressional backers of a .08 blood alcohol limit that if Congress passes the legislation, he will sign it, and would also support an even stricter limit.

"I say to you, if we win this battle and you want to come back for a lower limit, I'll be glad to stand here with you under those circumstances as well," Clinton told a White House gathering.

Drunken driving standards now vary from state to state, but 35 states set a higher limit -- .10 blood alcohol.

One administration official said comparing states with the .10 level to states with the lower .08 level indicate the national standard would save about 600 lives a year.

In endorsing the "Safe and Sober Streets Act," Clinton said it will make people take greater care.

"Lowering the legal limit to .08 will not prevent adults from enjoying alcoholic beverages, but lowering the limit will make responsible Americans take even greater care when they drink alcohol in any amount, if they intend to drive," Clinton said.

"To people who disregard the lethal threat they pose when they drink and drive, lowering the legal limit will send a strong message that our nation will not tolerate irresponsible acts that endanger our children and our nation," Clinton said.

Clinton also asked Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater to report back in 45 days on the feasibility of making .08 the legal limit on all federal property, such as national parks and military bases. That would allow the federal government, Clinton said, to lead the way in making .08 the law of the land.

Clinton was joined by families of victims of drunken drivers and congressional backers of a national standard, including Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Sen. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-New Jersey).

The president was introduced by Brenda Frazier, whose daughter Ashley, 9, was hit by a car and killed in December 1995 in Hempstead, Md. The driver had a blood-alcohol limit of .08, less than Maryland's legal limit.

Frazier said she was only 20 feet away when she saw her daughter struck by the speeding car.

"There is no one that will ever convince me that .08 is not serious impairment," she said. "My eyes have seen it, my ears have heard it."

Lautenberg said the proposal doesn't target social drinkers, but drunken drivers. The proposal would tie federal highway funds to states' putting the national standard into effect. A previous highway spending bill expired Sept. 30, and Congress approved a stopgap $5.5 billion measure to keep highway programs operating through May 1.

Tuesday March 3, 1998

• Vernon Jordan Under Grand Jury Microscope
• Party Lines Determine Views On Campaign Finance Inquiry
• Clinton Endorses Uniform Drunken Driving Limit
• Presidential Advisers To Be Deposed In Filegate Flap
• White House Scandal At A Glance