TOLEDO - The state's lowered drunken-driving threshold has led to 155 arrests in the first two months after the law took effect, according to the State Highway Patrol.
To protect millions of dollars in federal highway funds, the Legislature voted to lower Ohio's legal blood-alcohol limit from .10 to .08, effective July 1.
It was reported yesterday that drivers with blood-alcohol levels of .08 and .09 accounted for nearly 8 percent of the patrol's drunken driving arrests in July and August.
The figures include only those drivers who agreed to breath tests. Another 485 drivers refused to take the test and were automatically referred for license suspension.
The figures also exclude arrests made by local police and sheriff's officials.
Patrol Sgt. Robin Schmutz said it is way too early to determine if the stricter blood-alcohol limit will lead to substantially more arrests, or if it might reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes.
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