Senate Approves Lower Blood Alcohol Level

The Missouri Senate this week approved legislation to lower the blood alcohol level used to consider whether a driver is legally drunk. Senator Harold Caskey’s bill would lower the BAC from point-one-oh to point-oh-eight. But Caskey says a driver who blows a point-oh-eight BAC will not necessarily be considered drunk. But if that motorist causes an accident, the charge could be upgraded to driving while intoxicated. The bill also prohibits open containers of alcohol in a vehicle, although passengers in recreational vehicles and tour buses are allowed to have open containers. The House is expected to consider similar legislation because the federal government threatens to shift highway dollars from highway construction to highway safety unless the state changes its laws.