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Utah gov. to sign bill lowering DUI limit to lowest in nation

By Eric DuVall
Gov. Gary Herbert said he will sign a controversial bill lowering the drunk driving threshold in Utah to 0.05 percent blood-alcohol content. Utah would become the first state to go below the national standard of 0.08 percent BAC. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
Gov. Gary Herbert said he will sign a controversial bill lowering the drunk driving threshold in Utah to 0.05 percent blood-alcohol content. Utah would become the first state to go below the national standard of 0.08 percent BAC. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

March 23 (UPI) -- Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said he will sign a bill that would make his state the first in the nation to lower the drunk driving limit from 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content to 0.05 percent.

Herbert made the announcement Thursday during his monthly press conference, but said he remains open to changes in the legislation, which he said would not take effect until 2019.

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Herbert pushed back on the idea the measure would make Utah, a state where 60 percent of the population is non-drinking Mormons, look "weird."

He noted most of Europe already has a 0.05 percent BAC limit, though nowhere in the United States has reduced its drunk driving metric that low.

An individual's blood-alcohol content varies depending on height, weight, the amount of time between drinks and other factors. In general, a 200-pound male can consume four 16-ounce beers in two hours and be at the 0.08 percent BAC limit. He would hit 0.05 percent if he drank three beers in the same amount of time.

Herbert said the law would make Utah's highways safer for drivers and does not represent a moral judgment by non-drinking Mormons about others' behavior.

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"Well, there's not very many Mormons in Rome, and they are doing it there also," Herbert said. "I know there are people who are going to try to say this is a religious issue. That's just absolutely false. This is a public safety issue. You can drink as much as you want. But once you get past a couple of drinks, you ought not to be getting behind the wheel of an automobile."

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