Senate Panel Oks Tougher Dui Standard Boatright Argues Against Lower Blood-Alcohol Limit

A Senate panel has set the stage for another full-blown debate over whether Idaho should lower the blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent.

Republican Clyde Boatright of Rathdrum parted company with the majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee when it agreed to introduce the legislation staunchly advocated by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The proposition cleared the House on a 64-4 vote last year but was snubbed by the Senate committee. New committee membership and a more vigorous lobbying campaign could change the outcome this session, leaving Boatright in the minority.

“It’s kind of an arbitrary thing to start with,” Boatright said. “Drinks effect people in different ways depending on how they metabolize. The alcohol level per person is so variable, it seems like you’re setting up an arbitrary figure.”

Advocates of the tougher limit maintain other states imposing it have seen a reduction in alcohol-related accidents. Critics contend that there is a high likelihood that prosecutors will not press drunken driving charges against a motorist testing around the reduced limit because of uncertainty over the preciseness of testing procedures.