Utah’s Stricter 0.05 BAC Limit Significantly Reduces Drunk Driving Fatalities

A new analysis has found that after Utah lowered the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 g/dL, alcohol-related crash fatalities declined significantly more in Utah compared to its six contiguous states. The findings from the studyopens in new tab/window in the American Journal of Preventive Medicineopens in new tab/window, published by Elsevier, provide timely evidence that lowering the BAC limit may save lives and point to broad public safety benefits.

Driving under the influence of alcohol remains a major risk factor for motor vehicle crashes, with recent data showing a stagnation of reductions or rise in fatalities over the past decade. In 2023, 12,429 crash fatalities in the US involved at least one alcohol-impaired driver. Over the period 2014–2023, alcohol-impaired driving crashes have consistently accounted for 28-32% of all annual traffic fatalities in the US.

International research has consistently demonstrated that lowering the legal BAC limit to 0.05 effectively reduces alcohol-related crash injuries and fatalities by 11% or more. Utah was the first US state to lower the legal BAC limit for driving from 0.08 to 0.05—the law was passed in 2017 and took effect in 2018—and remains the only state that enforces the lower limit. To date, all other states maintain a 0.08 threshold.

Investigators of the current study analyzed national fatal crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and compared county-level crash fatality in Utah with that in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming before and after the Utah 0.05 BAC law took effect (2013-2023). For the difference-in-differences analysis, a subsample including only crashes that occurred in 2016 and 2019 was used.

The most important finding was that Utah experienced larger declines in alcohol-related fatalities, while non-alcohol-related fatalities did not show the same policy-related change.

Lead author and co-investigator Kaigang Li, PhD, MEd, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, and Colorado School of Public Health, Fort Collins, says, “This is one of the most rigorous US-based evaluations of a 0.05 BAC law using county-level comparative data. At a time when alcohol-impaired driving deaths remain a persistent national public health problem, these findings provide timely evidence that lowering the BAC limit may save lives.”

The researchers were highly encouraged to see that reductions were not only limited to drivers near the 0.05 threshold but extended across higher BAC levels as well. This suggests the law may have had a broader deterrent effect on drinking and driving behavior.

Despite documented lifesaving policy benefits in Utah and other nations and strong endorsement from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), political resistance, public misunderstanding, and cultural norms remain barriers to adopting a national 0.05 BAC limit, the investigators point out.

Lead investigator Federico E. Vaca, MD, MPH, University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, notes, “In the last decade for which we have federally published US crash data (2014–2023) available, the number of alcohol-impaired driving crash fatalities increased by 25% and the corresponding fatality rate increased by 15%. There is just so much opportunity here for collective prevention efforts to reduce serious injury and save more lives on our roadways. Each year of delay in enacting this policy represents a lost opportunity to prevent thousands of fatalities among drivers, passengers, and all road users.”

Dr. Li concludes, “Our findings suggest that stronger impaired-driving laws can influence drivers’ behavior and reduce preventable traffic deaths. Utah’s experience shows important and additional evidence for policymakers nationwide.”

Notes for editors

The article is “Utah’s Move from 0.08 to 0.05 BAC Per Se Policy: Effects on Driver Crash Fatalities Compared to Contiguous States,” by Kaigang Li, PhD, MEd, James C. Fell, MS, Niyousha Hosseinichimeh, PhD, Siwei Hu, PhD, and Federico E. Vaca, MD, MPH (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108380opens in new tab/window). It appears online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier.

The article is openly available for 30 days at https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(26)00123-6/fulltextopens in new tab/window.

Full text of this article is also available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Astrid Engelen at +31 6 14395474 or [email protected]opens in new tab/window. Journalists wishing to interview the authors should contact Matt Miller, Director of Communications & Public Relations, UC Irvine School of Medicine, at +1 714 317 8771 or [email protected]opens in new tab/window.

This work was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R56AA031271 and R01AA032274. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

The American Journal of Preventive Medicineopens in new tab/window is the official journal of the American College of Preventive Medicineopens in new tab/window and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Researchopens in new tab/window. It publishes articles in the areas of prevention research, teaching, practice and policy. Original research is published on interventions aimed at the prevention of chronic and acute disease and the promotion of individual and community health. The journal features papers that address the primary and secondary prevention of important clinical, behavioral and public health issues such as injury and violence, infectious disease, women's health, smoking, sedentary behaviors and physical activity, nutrition, diabetes, obesity, and alcohol and drug abuse. Papers also address educational initiatives aimed at improving the ability of health professionals to provide effective clinical prevention and public health services. The journal also publishes official policy statements from the two co-sponsoring organizations, health services research pertinent to prevention and public health, review articles, media reviews, and editorials. www.ajpmonline.orgopens in new tab/window

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