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Like other Pennsylvania counties, Blair has had more than its share of drunken-driving incidents and arrests. And, this county has not been without DUI-related fatalities.
As a way of gauging public sentiment here about this much-too-frequently recurring problem, perhaps an exercise is in order, based on what is happening in a handful of states across the nation.
Even if nothing results directly from that exercise, people here will have the satisfaction nonetheless of having had their voices heard on an issue that could result in any of them being innocent victims virtually anytime they are traveling on streets, roads and major highways, or as a pedestrian in any one of myriad circumstances.
On many fronts, Blair County has a penchant for being consequential in terms of shaping -- or joining other counties in shaping -- opinions for a broader landscape. Why not regarding the issue that will be discussed in the following paragraphs?
Some background first, however:
In its edition of last weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that at least six states, including Hawaii and Washington, are looking at lowering the blood-alcohol level at which a person can be charged with drunken driving.
There is no evidence to suggest that Pennsylvania is seriously contemplating such a change.
As the Journal noted, in this country 0.08 is the blood-alcohol level most driving-while-intoxicated or driving-under-the-influence laws stipulate to be when a driver can be presumed to be drunk.
Many Americans, no doubt also many here, tired of hearing about or reading about "alcohol-induced" highway carnage, support that level being reduced -- perhaps to as low as 0.05, the same level as what is in effect in Utah.
Traffic deaths in Utah decreased after that state's current law went into effect at the end of 2018.
According to the Journal, the proposed doing-away with 0.08 has come amid a national increase in alcohol-related traffic deaths that began in 2020. For that year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 11,654 fatalities in motor vehicle crashes in which at least one driver was alcohol-impaired.
That fatality number was 14.3% higher than 2019's alcohol-related highway death toll, NHTSA reported.
Meanwhile, NHTSA has reported that the number of deaths in police-reported alcohol-related crashes nationwide increased between 2020 and 2021 and were slightly higher in the first half of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021.
As with previous attempts to lower the blood-alcohol level for determining when a driver can be considered impaired -- prior to becoming 0.08, the level was 0.10 -- the proposed change already is being opposed by associations representing restaurants and other venues where alcoholic beverages are served.
Opponents say the change would put jobs at risk and possibly increase liability for establishments that serve alcohol, and that the effort to reduce alcohol-related highway deaths should be geared toward more severely intoxicated drivers.
Those are reasonable arguments.
But the intent here is not to make a recommendation at this time.
Rather, it is for this county's residents to begin giving serious thought to the issue, as states across the nation -- possibly even Pennsylvania eventually -- grapple with it.
Blair County's voice always is consequential, and knowing that 84% of drivers involved in fatal crashes during 2020 had a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or higher is an important statistic upon which that serious thought can be launched.
Establishing some "platform" for county residents to make their opinions known would be an interesting exercise.