A bill to lower the legal limit for impaired driving is on the move.
SB 5067 is a straightforward bill that lowers the blood (or breath) alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for the operator of a vehicle or watercraft from 0.08% to 0.05%.
It also directs the implementation of a public information campaign to tell the public about the changes and directs an evaluation of the legislation’s impacts during its first two years of implementation.
AWC supports legislation that aims to increase the safety of our city residents, such as this one.
Dates to remember
SB 5067 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Community Safety Committee on Thursday, February 19, at 8 am.
Bill to lower the impaired driving threshold to 0.05% BAC passes the Senate
January 30, 2026
A bill to lower the legal limit for impaired driving has passed the Senate.
SB 5067, sponsored by Sen. John Lovick (D–Mill Creek), is a bill introduced last session by request of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission that decreases the blood (or breath) alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for the operator of a vehicle or watercraft from 0.08% to 0.05%.
The passed bill also:
- Directs the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to establish a public information campaign about the state’s change to its driving under the influence laws; and
- Requires the Washington Institute of Public Policy to evaluate the first two years of consequences of the change.
2023 was the deadliest year on Washington roads since 1990. Research has found that the lower BAC limit reduces yearly fatalities involving alcohol-impaired driving by 11%. Currently, 84% of the world’s population lives in a country with BAC limits of 0.05% or lower. In the U.S., Utah is currently the only state with the lower rate of 0.05%, a change it instituted in 2018.
AWC supports legislation that aims to increase the safety of our city residents, such as this one.
HB 2362, sponsored by Brandy Donaghy (D–Everett), is a similar bill with a hearing in the House Transportation Committee on Thursday, February 5, at 1:30 pm.