Should Arizona lower the legal limit for a DUI to .05? Utah's governor has signed off on a new measure to lower the limit, in what could become a new trend.
12 News asking Arizonans if we should follow Utah’s lead.
The legal limit in Arizona has been at .08 since 2001 and some don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.
“I’m proud that Utah did it, but I don’t see anything like that coming this way,” said Alberto Gutier with the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
He tells 12 News DUI arrests have gone down since the .08 limit took effect.
“I think .08 was the right, reasonable amount that the law should be,” said Gutier.
With DUI deaths in Arizona on the decline, he says law enforcement agencies here are doing something right like the "Know Your Limit" effort. That’s an effort nearly 30 agencies are now on board with, where officers breathalyze people who voluntarily want to find out what their blood alcohol level registers at.
On average, one 12 oz. beer will put you at a .03 and take 2 hours to burn off, where an 8-ounce glass of wine will put you at a .06 and take 4 hours, but that could all change depending on a number of blood alcohol concentration factors.
“Your weight -- pretty accurate level of your weight -- your sex, pretty easy to find, male or female, and the amount of drinks you’ve had and the duration since you’ve had them all,” said Dr. Frank LoVecchio, an expert with the Banner Poison, Drug and Information Center.
“The average adult would be about one drink an hour and if you have three drinks and you wait three hours, you’re usually safe, in the sense that you will be under the legal limit,” he said.
There are even websites to help you calculate your blood alcohol concentration.
LoVecchio adds women's BACs are typically 10 percent higher than those of men when consuming the same amount, but that can always change depending on your stature.
Authorities stress that even if you’ve had one drink, don’t drive.