Wednesday August 29, 2001 |

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Officials and bar owners say they are prepared for stiffer limit

After over a year of planning, the state of Arizona is lowering the legal DUI limit beginning Labor Day weekend.

As of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the legal blood alcohol content for drivers will decrease from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent. The drop increases the chances of an arrest for those who choose to drink and drive and a fine for the establishment that chooses to serve them.

Campus health officials say students who drink and drive will have to drink less or quit drinking earlier in order to avoid a law violation and stiff consequences.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said they hope the lower level will help drivers think before they drink.

"The lower level is a really good educational tool," said Ed Slechta, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety. "We're hoping it will make drivers think a little more about drinking and driving."

Slechta said the lower limit also increases the safety of other drivers.

"A driver's ability begins to be impaired with a BAC of 0.05 percent," he said. "The new limit gives us the chance to make the road even safer."

Lyn Reyes, alcohol and drug prevention specialist at Campus Health, said students should remember four important aspects before drinking.

"A person's gender, weight, amount of alcohol in a beverage and the duration of time are factors students should remember before they choose to drink," Reyes said.

She said gender is an important aspect because males have more surface area and more of an enzyme that the body uses to metabolize alcohol.

She said tolerance to alcohol lessens a person's judgment, because even if a person does not feel the effects, a drink still affects the body in the same way.

Local bars are supportive and prepared for the drop in the legal limit.

"We are fully backing the stricter laws," said Ian Broom, general manager of Gentle Ben's Brewery, 865 E. University Blvd. "We spend a lot of money every year through the Pima County Liquor Board to teach our servers and security to cut a person off if they seem too intoxicated. If they seem too intoxicated, we send the person home in a cab."

One bar owner spoke on the importance of enforcing the limit at his establishment.

"All of our servers go through awareness training to develop skills of noticing a person who is too intoxicated," said Garret Raetzman, owner Frog & Firkin, 874 E. University Blvd. "If a person who leaves our establishment receives a DUI, we can be fined."

Arizona DPS is offering a free ride home during the Labor Day weekend. Anyone who feels too intoxicated to drive can ask a server in any bar to call a taxi, and the ride will be free.

"We're trying to remove every logical excuse to drive," Slechta said.

UAPD will be working in conjunction with the DPS DUI task force this weekend. More UAPD officers will be on duty during the weekend to aid the task force in enforcing the new limit.