Governor signs bill lowering blood alcohol limit for Uber, Lyft drivers
Bill authored by local assemblyman, district attorney
– Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2687 Thursday, lowering the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to .04 percent for Uber, Lyft, taxi, and other drivers carrying passengers for hire. Prior to this law being passed, the .04 legal limit was limited to commercial drivers. The limit for all other drivers over 21 years of age is .08 percent BAC, while the limit is .05 for drivers under the age of 21. However, as passed, this new legal limit will not become effective until July 1, 2018.
This bill was drafted and submitted to Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian by Assistant District Attorney Lee Cunningham after this office prosecuted two Driving Under the Influence (DUI) cases in 2015 where one involved an Uber driver and the other a taxi driver. Both were carrying passengers at the time of their arrest. The bill became law through the efforts of Assemblyman Achadjian, who authored the bill and carried it through the legislative process.
“Passengers who put their trust in a driver hired through services like Lyft and Uber deserve to have a sober and safe driver and the protection of the law,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “We are thankful to Assemblyman Achadjian for his hard work on this bill, and also to Governor Brown for signing this bill into law. Californian’s will be safer when this new law is implemented in 2018.”
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