It’s taken 22 years after the first state &045; Utah &045; adopted it, but yesterday Minnesota &045;&160; the last state to join the band wagon &045; lowered its legal drinking limit to .08 percent. We support the change and hope it reduces the number of alcohol-related deaths as it did across the nation.

Last year in Minnesota there were 34,413 DWI arrests, with 69 of those under the previous legal limit of 0.10 alcohol concentration. While 69 seems to represent such a small percentage of the total, consider the number of people killed in alcohol-related accidents &045; 177. There were 447,351 Minnesotans with a DWI on their record. These numbers are simply too high.

Consider also the drop in alcohol-related deaths in Wisconsin and North and South Dakota after 0.08 became law in those states.

Given the statistics, it’s clear the time had come to adopt the lower limit and make roads safer for all drivers.