    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [March 3, 1998]
    [Page 318]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 318]]

    Memorandum on Standards To Prevent Drinking and Driving
    March 3, 1998

    Memorandum for the Secretary of Transportation

    Subject: Standards to Prevent Drinking and Driving

        We have made progress in improving highway safety through a variety
    of innovative and aggressive initiatives, including our ``Buckle Up
    America'' campaign to increase safety belt usage and improve child
    passenger safety, and the formation of a ground-breaking public-private
    partnership on airbags. We have also taken important steps to reduce the
    deaths and injuries brought about by alcohol use and driving. In
    November 1995, I signed into law legislation to help ensure that States
    adopt ``Zero Alcohol Tolerance'' laws by October 1998 for young drivers.
    To date, 46 States and the District of Columbia have enacted such laws.
        However, drunk driving remains a serious highway safety problem.
    Over 40 percent of all motor vehicle deaths in 1996--17,126--were
    alcohol-related, and nearly 3,000 of these fatalities were young people
    under the age of 21. Moreover, alcohol-related automobile accidents cost
    our society $45 billion every year, not including the pain and suffering
    endured by the victims.
        We must do more to prevent the many tragic and unnecessary alcohol-
    related deaths and injuries that occur on our Nation's roads. That is
    why my Administration has called on the Congress to pass legislation
    helping to ensure that a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 becomes the
    national legal limit. Research shows that, at a BAC level of .08,
    drivers are impaired with regard to critical driving tasks such as
    braking, steering, lane changing, and exercising good judgment. The risk
    of being involved in a crash increases substantially when drivers have a
    BAC level of .08 or above. In fact, the relative risk of a driver being
    killed in a single-vehicle crash at .08 BAC has been estimated to be at
    least 11 times higher than it is for drivers who have no alcohol in
    their system. Yet 33 States and the District of Columbia continue to use
    .10 BAC as the legal limit. It is estimated that if all States were to
    lower their limits to .08 BAC, there would be 600 fewer alcohol-related
    traffic deaths every year.
        I hope the Congress will enact legislation as soon as possible to
    help to ensure State passage of .08 BAC laws. Even before the Congress
    acts, however, we can take action to promote .08 BAC as the appropriate
    standard across the country, including on Federal property.
        I therefore direct you, working with appropriate Federal agencies,
    the Congress, the States, safety groups, and other concerned Americans,
    to report back to me within 45 days with a plan to promote the adoption
    of a .08 BAC legal limit. Among other things, the plan should consider:
           (1)  setting a .08 BAC standard on Federal property, including in
                national parks and on Department of Defense installations,
                and ensuring strong enforcement and publicity of this
                standard;
           (2)  encouraging tribal governments to adopt, enforce, and
                publicize a .08 BAC standard on highways in Indian Country
                that are subject to their jurisdiction; and
           (3)  developing an educational campaign to help the public
                understand the risks associated with combining alcohol
                consumption and driving.

                                                          William J. Clinton