A change in Tennessee's laws lowering the amount of alcohol individuals can drink and be legally drunk has met with mixed reactions from University of Memphis students.
Tennessee lowered the blood alcohol content (BAC) from .10 percent to .08 percent July 1. With the change in the law, a person is now legally drunk faster.
Dawaun Washington, a graduate student at The University of Memphis, said he thinks lowering the BAC is a great idea.
"It will give people the idea that they should not drive drunk and save lives by lowering levels of drunk drivers," said Washington.
However, Washington said that he does not think the change will affect the mentality of college students who drink.
"College kids are going to do whatever they want to do," said Washington. "They don't have the mind-frame to think about what the lower BAC will mean.
"All they think about is having a good time," he said.
Adrian Allen, sophomore at The University of Memphis, said he thinks the law is too strict and will have a minimal effect on its targeted audience.
"I don't think it will change the habits of those who drink at parties, but it may affect people who don't drink much," said Allen. "It may make a light drinker think twice about having that one beer."
The change in Tennessee's law came three years after Congress enacted a federal .08 standard in 2000. All 50 states must conform to the law by Oct. 1 or face losing 2 percent of federal highway construction funds. Those same states will lose an additional 2 percent of funds until 2006 or until an open container law was established.
Police officer Barry Copley said he believes the law should have been passed sooner.
Copley is one of few specialty officers that work in Shelby County's Metro D.U.I. Unit and gets to work hands on with drunk drivers. Although he is happy with the decision to crack down on the inebriated, Copley said that he still thinks more can be done.
"The open container law needs to be passed and the penalty for refusing to take a
B.A.C. test needs to be as strong as the D.U.I. law," he said.
Copley also said he thought government officials were reluctant to enact stronger laws.
Tennessee is not alone. Along with Mississippi and Arkansas, 11 other states have not passed open container laws. The current law for open containers in Tennessee only applies to drivers. Despite years of trying to persuade Tennessee government officials to pass a law that would include all occupants of a car, the bills have never made it out of committee.
Due to Tennessee's opposition, the federal government already withholds 3 percent of funds from road construction budgets to pay for safety campaigns like "Click It or Ticket" and "You Drink, You Drive, You Lose."
Copley said he hopes such safety programs and more publicity will lead people to get designated drivers.
"Maybe people will pay attention and decide not to risk it," he said. "If they get arrested once, hopefully they will learn from the experience."
