New York drunk driving laws consider motorists to be intoxicated if their blood alcohol content (BAC) exceeds 0.08 percent. However, this is not the only definition of drunk driving. There are zero-tolerance rules in place for drivers younger than 21, and commercial drivers are also not permitted to drive with a BAC exceeding 0.04 percent. The law holds that motorists can be arrested for drunk driving any time they are impaired or their ability to drive safely is affected by alcohol, by drugs or by a combination of alcohol and drugs. This is true even if the driver’s blood alcohol content does not exceed the legal limit.
While a driver with a BAC of 0.08 percent is close to 100 percent more likely to be involved in a car accident than a sober driver, a driver can actually become impaired well before this point.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a recommendation that states drop the permissible BAC level to 0.05 instead of 0.08. The NTSB has made this recommendation based on data showing that a driver with a BAC of 0.05 may be 39 percent more likely to be involved in a crash than a driver who hasn’t consumed any alcohol. This means that drivers who have consumed alcohol can be dangerous and present a risk on the roads even if they are below the legal limit.