BUFFALO, NY — New York State legislators are calling for the lowering of the legal blood alcohol concentration from .08 to .05 to ensure safety of everyone on the roads.
7 News reporter Jaurdyn Johnson spoke to Williamsville restaurant owner, Paul Santora, on his thoughts if this legislation passes.
"It makes it a little more difficult to value how that person is getting home, how they are leaving. So, it is going to be a little more trying," said Santora, who owns Santora's Pizza Pub and Grill.
Santora tells 7 News that he and his staff do everything by the book, meaning they take extra measures to ensure that no one is overserved or underage.
"We have a no-tolerance policy, not only for IDing but again for overserving we watch guest checks all the time. How many people are drinking? Where are buckets going? Where are pitchers going?" said Santora.
Steve Boyd is a lawyer in Buffalo who is supportive of this legislation after advocating for drunk driving victims and their families for decades.
"It's easier enforcement for people that are caught drinking and driving. Hopefully, and this isn't always the case, but hopefully tougher laws create more prevention, create less deaths on the highway," said Boyd.
New York State police say drunk drivers cause more than 17,000 deaths per year nationwide and in New York State, more than 30% of deadly crashes are alcohol-related.
"Honestly, the cost of a DWI defense can be 5, 7, 10 grand compared to what's an Uber going to cost you? Less than 50 bucks. You can share that with your friends. It just makes all the sense in the world," said Boyd.
If this legislation passes New York State would join Utah as the only states with a .05 BAC.
