NOW IS THE TIME FOR .08 By SECRETARY OF STATE GEORGE H. RYAN

By a two-to-one margin, registered Illinois voters support lowering the blood alcohol content (BAC) level from the current .10 percent to .08 percent, according to a recent statewide poll.

Sixty-one percent of those surveyed favor lowering the BAC level at which a motorist is considered driving under the influence while 31 percent oppose the change.

The poll demonstrates indisputably that the voters of Illinois want a .08 law in our state. Legislators who have been wondering how the public feels about this issue don't have to wonder any more. The poll also found that:

• A vast majority — 95 percent — strongly approve of the steps the General Assembly has taken in recent years to reduce the number of drunk drivers. Only two percent disapprove of these actions.

• A 55 percent majority believe there should be a lower BAC level for drivers under the age of 21. Forty percent disagree.

• Fifty-six percent said a motorist who had only three drinks — or even less — in an hour should be considered under the influence.

A .08 BAC level means there are .08 grams of alcohol per milliliters of blood. To reach that level, an average 160-pound person would need to drink about four drinks in one hour on an empty stomach.

The poll involved 801 telephone interviews conducted August 12-15, 1993, for the Long Grove-based Kemper National Insurance Companies by Market Shares Corp. of Mt. Prospect. The poll was conducted statewide among registered voters who have voted in recent elections. The results have a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

This is a statewide, scientifically conducted poll. And — though we have one of the most diverse states in the nation — Kemper's pollsters found that, regardless of where they looked or who they asked, the verdict on .08 was the same. Whether young or old . . . urban, suburban or rural. . . Democrat, Republican or Independent ... a substantial majority of Illinois voters favor a .08 BAC.

And — although a small minority of people might think we're too tough — most people now understand that we're not doing anybody a favor by being soft on drunks who drive.

Drivers should be considered legally drunk with a .08 blood-alcohol level. A wealth of credible research shows that a driver's skills and judgment are affected significantly at .08. A level of .08 is indeed drunk and impaired, and people at that level have no business being on the road.

Illinois is at the forefront nationally in cracking down on drunk drivers. To maintain this position, we must join the 10 other states that have lowered the illegal DUI limit to .08.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, passed in 1991, stipulates that states are eligible for federal grants if they meet four of five anti-drunk driving criteria. Illinois currently receives $2.2 million annually in such incentive grants, but those funds will dry up if the state does not have a .08 BAC law in force by Oct. 1,1996.

Therefore, I once again, in 1994, will ask the General Assembly to pass .08 legislation. The Senate Transportation Committee will hold public hearings on the .08 BAC bill at a later date.

Vehicle crashes are the leading killer of people under age 45. They are the biggest cause of permanent disabilities in our nation. And nearly half of those crashes every year can be laid at the door of a drunk driver.

This is the message that I hope to take to the Legislature next spring. Lowering the BAC to .08 has broadbased voter support throughout Illinois. With the results of this poll behind us, I hope that when we call for a vote on my .08 bill — Senate Bill 903 — this time the Legislature will vote yes.

I am very hopeful that the results of this poll will help inspire the best kind of public policy-making — the kind that will spare even more people from a needless death and more families from a needless tragedy. •

December 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 7