Liquor companies join push for tighter drunken driving laws

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In the shadow of last fall's federal law that pushes states to lower the limit for drunken driving, two groups representing liquor companies announced Tuesday they are joining the campaign.

Representatives from The Century Council, a non-profit alcohol education group funded by distillers, and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, told reporters they will add their lobbying skills and resources to the push by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) for every state to set the legal limit for drivers' blood alcohol content (BAC) at .08 percent.

As part of their campaign, the two groups will insist that the .08 BAC standard be accompanied by other state laws, including compulsory education to teach drivers how much alcohol is too much for their particular size and weight, and stricter license revocation laws for repeat offenders.

RESOURCES National blood alcohol standards

They also will push for tougher fines, criminal penalties for repeat offenders and mandatory after-care treatment.

MADD, a grassroots group that campaigns against drunken driving, said 30 U.S. states still do not consider drivers intoxicated until they reach .10 percent.

Until now, The Century Council and the Distilled Spirits Council have taken a neutral position on .08 BAC, said Susan Molinari, Century Council chairwoman and a former member of Congress.

"We are the first in the industry to announce our support of .08 as part of a comprehensive approach and we're proud of that. It is our expression of our long-standing commitment to responsibility," Molinari said.

Millie Webb, MADD president and survivor of an accident caused by a drunken driver in which her 4-year-old daughter and 19-month-old nephew were killed, said The Century Council initiated this collaboration with MADD. She acknowledged the arrangement is unusual.

"Today's announcement may come as a surprise to some people," Webb said. "It's not every day that MADD finds common ground with the alcohol industry. It's no surprise that we don't always see eye-to-eye on public policy. But I believe that when we agree on issues, we should both work to battle the drunk driving problem. We must all do our part because it affects us all."

MADD estimates that 500 lives would be saved each year if a .08 BAC were the standard in every state.

Congress last fall passed a bill requiring states to set the limit at .08 percent by October 2003 or risk losing 2 percent of their federal highway construction funds, with an additional 2 percent to be lost each year through 2006.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety administration, a 170-pound man can consume approximately four drinks in an hour on an empty stomach before reaching .08 BAC, and a 137-pound woman could consume three.

Studies have shown that a person operating with a level of .08 percent has 11 times greater risk than a sober driver of being involved in a fatal crash. At .10 percent, the risk is 29 times greater.

In the latest government numbers, for 1999, alcohol was involved in 38 percent of fatal crashes and 7 percent of all crashes.

CNN's Julie Vallese and Rita Jupe contributed to this report.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving
The Century Council
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.