Drunk driving standard may pop up again in legislature

The state standard for judging just who’s driving drunk may change this year. Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack often has called for lowering the blood alcohol limit from point-one-oh to point-oh-eight. Republicans who control the legislature’s agenda have repeatedly said no. In a private meeting yesterday, the Governor and legislators began talking about lowering the drunken driving standard, but setting up lesser penalties for those caught between one-oh and oh-eight. He says a combination of senators have concerns about the penalties involved.Senator Gene Maddox, a republican from Clive, says there’s reluctance to enforce the toughest penalties on those caught with a point-oh-eight or point-oh-nine blood alcohol level. Maddox says it would be a good objective to work toward a consensus on the penalty.The state will lose federal road construction money in future years if the state’s drunken driving standard isn’t lowered to point-oh-eight, and an Iowa Department of Public Safety spokeswoman says lowering the penalties for the lower-level drunken driving arrests probably won’t meet the federal dictate. Under current law, a first-time drunken driver must be jailed for at least 48 hours and lose their drivers license for 180 days. They may apply for a restricted license after a month, if they agree to install a device on the ignition that doesn’t let the car start if the driver’s intoxicated.