House Votes To Lower Drunken-Driving Limit But Three North Idaho Republicans Among Those Opposing Get-Tough Legislation

Idaho is set to become the 15th state to lower its drunken-driving limit to a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent.

After only brief debate Monday, the House voted 51-15 for the legislation, which would repeal the state’s 0.10 percent limit, and sent the bill to Gov. Phil Batt for his signature.

“There’s good evidence that lowering the blood-alcohol level to 0.08 does save lives,” said Rep. Ron Crane, R-Nampa. “It will save lives and prevent hundreds of accidents every year.”

Three North Idaho lawmakers were among the opponents: Reps. John Campbell, R-Sandpoint; Jim Clark, R-Hayden; and Wayne Meyer, R-Rathdrum.

“I think it’s gimmickry,” Campbell said. “Any time you implement anything like that, it costs money, and we’re short of money.”

Clark said he’d rather see standards related more to how impaired a driver is than what his or her blood alcohol measures.

And Meyer said, “Those guys aren’t the problem. It’s the guys that are at 1.5 and higher that are the problem.”

But Crane said evidence and research indicate that states that have lowered the blood-alcohol limit to 0.08 percent have had fewer crashes involving intoxicated drivers. “The vast majority of drivers are impaired at 0.08. The risk of a driver being in a crash rises rapidly at 0.08,” he said.

Idaho also stands to benefit financially. Crane said Idaho can receive $350,000 in alcohol incentive grants.

He said it is estimated that in 1995, alcohol-related accidents cost more than $98 million in Idaho.

“Lowering the legal limit has changed the public perception that if you drink, you shouldn’t drive,” he said.

During Senate debate last month, Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, was one of only seven who opposed the measure.

“My point is that there are some other ways we could get at this issue, some other tools we could utilize,” she said.

Increasing enforcement efforts, targeting first-time offenders for diversion or other programs to prevent another offense and eliminating plea bargains are possible tools to combat drunken driving, Keough said.

Sen. Clyde Boatright, R-Rathdrum, said the percentage of fatalities involving alcohol has been declining since 1993. “I question the need for this legislation,” he said.

The bar, hotel and restaurant industries, along with distillers and brewers, have opposed stricter limits in state capitals and in Congress.

John C. Doyle, spokesman for the American Beverage Institute, quoted research that only 7 percent of alcohol-related traffic accidents involve drivers who tested at bloodalcohol levels of 0.08 percent or 0.09 percent.

People who want to reduce drunken-driving deaths, he said, should be concentrating on drivers with blood-alcohol levels far in excess of 0.10 percent.

Doyle said his group agrees that sanctions should be tougher for people convicted of drunken driving, but he argued that lowering blood-alcohol limits would turn social drinkers into outlaws.

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This sidebar appeared with the story: DUI VOTE Here’s how North Idaho representatives voted in the House’s approval of legislation lowering the drunken-driving standard to 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content: Voting yes: Reps. June Judd, D-St. Maries; Hilde Kellogg, R-Post Falls; Don Pischner, R-Coeur d’Alene; Jim Stoicheff, D-Sandpoint; and Larry Watson, D-Wallace. Voting no: Reps. John Campbell, R-Sandpoint; Jim Clark, R-Hayden; and Wayne Meyer, R-Rathdrum. Reps. Jeff Alltus, R-Hayden, and Chuck Cuddy, D-Orofino, missed the vote.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = From staff and wire reports Staff writer Betsy Z. Russell contributed to this report.