Proposal for New DWI Laws for MissouriDWI laws will always be contentious, with different viewpoints impacting on requirements of the laws. If rewriting the Missouri DWI laws the following would be recommended, the reasons for each recommendation are provided. 

1.    The legal limit; A person will be deemed to be intoxicated if they have a blood alcohol content higher than the level allowed. The level allowed for drivers of commercial vehicles will be 0%, for drivers under age of 21 and under it will be 0.01 and for drivers over the age of 21 it will be 0.05. The bill will also include any type of intoxication or undue influence of other substances which impair judgement. 

There is a clear relationship between higher blood alcohol content and higher road traffic accidents (Karakus et al. 440; Fell and Voas 869). The implementation of a zero blood alcohol level would be in line with many current policies of transportation companies, so not only should this help to reduce the potential for road accidents and harm, it is unlikely to be resisted. The recommendation of the 0.05% for drivers over the age...

While a zero limit may be the safest, it is unlikely this would be accepted, so the 0.05% has been chosen as this is the level backed by the National Transport Safety Board (Fell and Voas 869). As there has been a precedent set for a lower limit for those 21 and under, this will be left in place. The clause regarding other substances is included to cover for other substances, which are also already included in the existing act, 
2.    Abuse and lose; Those 21 and under will have their licence suspected for a period of 90 days following a first offence under the new DWI act, and a year for a second offence. For those over the age of 21 a licence will be automatically suspected for 90 days for a second office and a year for a third office, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Anyone who refuses a blood alcohol test may have their licence revoked for up to 1 year at the discretion of the court. 

The current abuse and lose rules see a driver under 21 have their licence suspended for 90 days on the first office…