Illinois Could Adopt One Of The Country’s Strictest DUI Laws

Legislative sessions are back which means new possible laws.

Illinois may become one of the strictest states against DUI's in the country with House Bill 4333.

The bill would lower Illinois' blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05. Which basically translates to about 2 drinks in an hour or 2-4 drinks over 2 hours, of course depending on the weight/gender/etc of the drinker.

Right now, the only state with a BAC standard of 0.05 is Utah.

Supporters of the bill are saying that it could help lower traffic deaths and research shows drivers can hit that level after just one or two drinks.

The BAC level of 0.08 is the standard for most states though some have stricter penalties for DUI's than others. Notably, Arizona and Alaska have penalties like jail time and long license suspensions, while Utah has the lower BAC threshold.

There's nothing in the bill that mentions changes to penalties for a DUI in Illinois. Currently, a first-time offense in Illinois is a Class A misdemeanor that results in immediate license suspension, fines up to $2,500, a year in jail, and mandatory alcohol education.

The new bill in Illinois would make anything over a 0.05 BAC into a DUI offense. The bill has been assigned to a House committee but it's not scheduled for a hearing yet.

Latest stats show that Illinois doesn't have it the worst when it comes to DUI's. In a study from Forbes last year, Iowa ranked higher than Illinois in the 'Worst States for Drunk Driving'. Iowa clocked in at #16 while Illinois ranked #41.