Resource References: MADD Resources
XV.
.05 BAC law
The 2017 Utah Legislature passed HB155 “Driving Under the Influence and Public Safety Revisions” to lower Utah’s illegal BAC level to .05. The bill took effect on December 30, 2018. In 2022, NHTSA found Utah’s fatal crash rate dropped by 19.8% in 2019, the first year under the lower legal limit. In 2019, more than 22% of those who drank alcohol indicated they had changed their behaviors once the law went into effect. The most common change was ensuring a sober ride was available when drinking away from home, which is an encouraging sign. Currently, every state except Utah has an illegal BAC of .08. These .08 BAC laws have helped to save over 40,000 lives. MADD believes .05 BAC will help save even more lives. Studies suggest over 1,700 lives could be saved each year if all states enacted a .05 BAC law. According to the National Safety Council, the crash risk of someone driving at a .05 BAC level increases by 40%. The goal of a .05 BAC is not to stop people aged 21 and over from consuming alcohol, but to deter people from driving after drinking. The public supports .05, according to the AAA Foundation. Sixty-three percent of people surveyed think .05 BAC should be the illegal level.
Bentley’s Law
Bentley’s Law was created by Missouri resident Cecilia Williams and named for her grandson, Bentley, whose parents Lacey Newton and Cordell Shawn Michael Williams and their 4-month-old son, Cordell Shawn Michael Williams II, were killed in a crash on April 13, 2021. The intent of the law is to hold convicted drunk drivers who kill a parent or guardian accountable by requiring offenders to pay restitution in the form of child support. Tennessee was the first to pass a version of this law in May 2022 with “Ethan’s, Hailey’s and Bentley's Law.” In 2023, Kentucky passed “Melanie’s Law,” and Texas and Maine followed, bringing the total number of state laws that mandate restitution for the children who lose a parent or guardian to this crime to four. Kentucky’s law added the stipulation that impaired drivers who either kill or severely injure a parent or guardian are required to pay restitution for dependent children.
MADD Board Chair, Andrew Robinson, celebrating Tennessee for being the first state to require drunk drivers who kill a parent to pay child support for surviving children with Cecilia Williams & her cousin Diane Sutton.
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Mothers Against Drunk Driving ®
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