The National Transportation Safety Board on May 14 voted to recommend that all 50 states lower the blood-alcohol content (BAC) DUI threshold from 0.08 to 0.05, in an effort to further reduce alcohol-related vehicle crashes, CNN.com reported.

The 0.08 BAC threshold has been in place for a decade. But an NTSB study concluded that if all 50 states lowered the threshold from .08 BAC to .05 BAC, 500-800 lives could be saved each year. The board also called for more administrative seizures of driver’s licenses from DUI offenders and for accelerating development of vehicle technology that can automatically detect whether a driver is too drunk to drive.

Each year, nearly 10,000 people die in alcohol-related traffic accidents.

The proposal has drawn strong criticism from the restaurant and beverage industries. 

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