Maryland Considering Lowering Blood Alcohol Levels from .08 to .05

Maryland Considering Lower Blood Alcohol Levels from .08 to .05

As my avid blog followers are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with three Baltimore Chiropractic clinics in Baltimore, MD. The great part about our clinics is that not only do they serve the Baltimore city community, but with our convenient locations are are also accessible to the Baltimore county communities of Catonsville, Arbutus, Halethorpe, Pikesville, and Dundalk. Lately all of these clinics have been seeing an uptick in the number of Baltimore auto accident injury patients that have been injured as a result of drunk drivers. So it got me thinking – what, if anything, are we doing to make the roads safer?

An article I found on WJZ (local CBS affiliate) seems to indicate that law makers are considering decreasing the legal blood alcohol content from .08 to .05. You can see a copy of that link here. Apparently over two billion people in the world are already capped at a max BAC of .05 before they are considered to be driving under the influence. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University state that on American roads there are approximately 10,000 deaths a year that are directly linked to alcohol related drunk driving car accidents, with approximately 1,200 of those occurring within the state of Maryland. That seems like a high proportion of those deaths happening in this state. Between our density of local colleges and our big cities with bars on every corner, it sort of doesn’t surprise me.

In addition to considering lowering the legal limit of BAC, the state is considering increasing taxes on alcohol, limiting the ability of alcohol manufacturers to advertise for their products, and restricting the supply of alcoholic beverages during major events such as sporting events.

To further confuse matters – exactly what would a lower blood alcohol content from .08 to .05 mean to me or you? Can we still have a beer or glass of wine with dinner? How can we tell the impact it will have on our particular bodies with the way that we individually process alcohol?

Personally I think the only acceptable level of consumption of alcohol to get behind the wheel is 0. That is, with the abundance of rideshare apps such as Uber and Lyft, its reasonable to never have to drive having even consumed one alcoholic beverage. I personally would feel safer if there was a “zero tolerance” law around alcohol and driving. But, that’s easy for me to say since I don’t really like drinking. As my friends with legal DUI practices like to remind me, it’s way cheaper to spend ten dollars for an uber ride than it is to spend $5,000 or more on DUI defense. If you unfortunately need to consult with a DUI attorney please contact the law office of Ross Albers here.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result of a Baltimore auto accident due to drunk driving, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at 443-842-5500. We would be happy to see you today in any one of our three Baltimore chiropractic clinics and get you back on the road to recovery.

Dr. Gulitz