ALBANY – The state Senate yesterday gave final passage to legislation to lower the threshold for drunk driving in New York for the first time in 30 years.
The bill, which Gov. Pataki plans to sign into law, drops the state’s legal limit for blood alcohol content to be charged with DWI to .08, down from .10.
The average 170-pound man would need to have four drinks in an hour to reach .08. The average 130-pound woman reaches the limit at three drinks in an hour.
All states are under pressure to go to .08 by this summer or face losing millions in federal transportation money. New York has already lost tens of millions in incentive money because it waited years to adopt the measure.
The GOP-controlled Senate wanted the measure incorporated into a bill that would strengthen criminal penalties for repeat drunk-driving offenders. But after the Democrat-controlled Assembly balked, the Senate passed the .08 bill yesterday separate from another bill toughening penalties they hope the Assembly will act on next year.