South Carolina
drivers will face stricter drunken driving standards, when Gov. Mark
Sanford signs off on a new law at 10 a.m. today at the York County
Sheriff's Office in York.
The law lowers the legal blood-alcohol concentration limit in
South Carolina from .10 to .08. Changes in the drunken driving law
after years of political wrangling over the issue, said state Rep.
Gary Simrill, R-Rock Hill, who supported the measure. The General
Assembly passed the bill at the 11th hour this past legislative
session.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration threatened to
withhold more than $60 million in highway funds from the federal
government if South Carolina did not lower the legal limit. Only a
few states in the nation do not have .08 as the legal limit.
Some officials didn't like the idea of the federal government
forcing state policy by holding up highway money, but Sanford has
long supported the lower level.
Simrill also is in favor of it. "Even without the federal highway
money at stake, I supported lowering the limit," he said. "It is
just the right thing to do."
State Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, and S.C. Rep. Greg Delleney,
R-Chester, among others, also helped push passage of the lower
limit, Simrill said.
Contact Andrew Dys at 329-4065 or mailto:adys@heraldonline.com
