Utah lowers alcohol limit to reduce impaired driving crashes
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Utah became the first state in the United States to lower its legal blood alcohol concentration limit for drivers from 0.08% to 0.05% in 2018.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that this policy change linked to a nearly 9% reduction in alcohol-related crashes over the following four years. Researchers compared Utah's crash data against neighboring states, including Arizona, Colorado, and Idaho.
While alcohol-involved crash rates increased in those neighboring states, the share of crashes involving alcohol in Utah fell 12% to 21%. The study also noted a 12% decline in injury crashes involving alcohol. The researchers accounted for the COVID-19 pandemic, during which alcohol-involved crashes in Utah rose 46% for a short period in early 2020. Despite this temporary spike, the long-term trend showed a decline compared to the years before the law took effect.
Researchers noted that Utah historically had some of the lowest alcohol-involved crash rates in the country and that heavy publicity before the law started may have also influenced driver behavior.
