Oregon’s DUI law has always been a hot political subject, with substantial pressure on legislators to make the law tougher. Victim advocate groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) consistently lobby for this, and beverage groups and service industry pull in the other direction. With Oregon’s roads getting busier and more dangerous, this issue is unlikely to go away anytime soon. In this article, we’ll take a look at the history and data behind the movement to further lower Oregon’s legal standard from the.08 standard down to .05.

History

Will Oregon follow Utah again and lower the legal limit for DUII to .05 Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)?

In 1983, Utah was the first state to lower the legal standard for DUII, from .10 to .08 blood alcohol content (BAC). Oregon soon followed suit, led by the proposal of the late Oregon Senate President, Peter Courtney (RIP), then only a freshman representative.

In 2019, Oregon almost followed Utah again, as potentially the second state to reduce the DUI BAC limit to .05. Utah’s new regulation, the strictest in the nation, went into effect in December of 2018.

Before Utah passed their new law, Sen. Courtney introduced a draft of Senate Bill 7 to be considered during the Oregon legislative session that began on January 22, 2019. This bill suggested that a person commits the offense of DUI if that person has .05 or higher blood alcohol content. That bill eventually stalled, so Oregon’s status quo has remained in effect since then.

What are the statistics?

At the time, Sen. Courtney’s office pointed out that that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been urging all 50 states lower their limits to .05 percent for the past five years. The NTSB reported that there was a 10.4% reduction in alcohol-related fatalities between 1982 and 2014, after the BAC limit was lowered from .10 to .08. They now estimate that lowering the limit to .05 would save 1,790 lives a year.

Here are a summary of some salient points:

• Many countries have enacted a .05 BAC limit, including Australia, most of the EU, Hong Kong, Israel, and South Africa.
• A 160-pound man would hit the limit with three drinks in one hour, and a 140-pound woman would after drinking three beers in an hour.
• Drivers with a BAC of .05-.79 are 7 times more likely to be in a fatal crash than drivers with no alcohol in their system, according to NTSB.
• Decreasing BAC limits does not reduce average alcohol consumption.

These facts definitely made the rounds among Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) staff. It’s important to note, too, that lowering Oregon’s BAC level has been a goal of ODOT for years. The state’s Transportation Safety Action Plan reports that impaired driving was involved in 22 percent of all fatal and serious injury crashes in Oregon between 2009 and 2013. That equates to 625 fatalities and 1,087 serious injuries. It is worth noting that since Utah’s lowered limit went into effect, a five-year study completed in 2022 demonstrated a reduction in traffic crashes and in related fatalities.

What are people saying?

The Oregon legislature has had its share of drama in the intervening years, and 2025’s session ended with major issues unresolved, so it’s unsurprising that this politically sticky legislation hasn’t been revived yet. That said, there remains a motivated movement to get Oregon’s legal standard lowered from .08 to .05. Of course, the restaurant industry and alcohol industries are not fans of the idea. Jackson Shedelbower, a spokesperson for the American Beverage Institute, has stated that any new legislation should focus on the drivers who drink high volumes of alcohol or have had repeat DUIIs.

Shedelbower supports his position with statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They report that 70 percent of alcohol-impaired fatalities involved at least one driver with a blood alcohol content of .15 percent or higher.  “That’s three times a .05 percent BAC,” Shedelbower said. “We think this law criminalizes perfectly responsible behavior.”

This is bound to be an evolving issue for years to come, but we’ll be watching any proposed legislation closely.  If you’re facing a DUI or DUI related offense, please contact Reynolds Defense Firm for your free initial consultation. Our team specializes nothing but Oregon DUI law, and our reputation demonstrates we’re the kind of law firm that you can place your faith and trust into.