In an Executive Memorandum, issued on March 3, 1998, President Clinton
directed the Secretary of Transportation to develop a plan that
promotes the adoption of a .08 BAC legal limit. In particular, the
memorandum directed the Secretary to consider in his plan setting,
enforcing and publicizing a .08 BAC standard on Federal property
(specifically in national parks and on Department of Defense installations)
and encouraging Tribal governments to adopt, enforce and publicize
a .08 BAC standard on highways in Indian Country that are subject
to their jurisdiction.

National Parks
The National Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior
(DOI), is authorized to establish rules and regulations governing
the use and management of parks, monuments and reservations under
its jurisdiction. 16 U.S.C. 3.
Under this authority, NPS has issued vehicle and traffic
regulations. 36 CFR Part 4. Subsection 4.23(a)(2) of theseregulations
establishes Click
on the Image to view details .10 BAC as theper se legal limit fordrivers
who operate
a vehicle on roadwaysr in parking areas within all park areasthat are open to public traffic and that are under the legislative
jurisdiction of the United States.
The
regulation provides further that, “if state law ... establishes
more restrictive limits of alcohol concentration in the operator’s
blood or breath, those limits supersede the limits specified in
this paragraph.” In other words, in park areas in states that
have established .08 BAC as the legal limit, drivers are prohibited
from operating a vehicle with a BAC of .08 or higher. In all other
park areas (including those in states that have not adopted a per
se statute), drivers are currently subject to the .10 BAC per se
requirement.
Pursuant
to the Presidential directive dated March 3, 1998, NHTSA has worked
with NPS to promote the adoption of a national .08 BAC legal limit.
In accordance with the directive, NPS has initiated plans to conduct
rulemaking to amend its regulation to lower the legal limit in park
areas from .10 BAC to .08 BAC.
Department
of Defense Installations
The Department of Defense (DoD) has jurisdiction over DoD
installations. 10 U.S.C. 113; 30112(g).
Under
this authority, DoD has issued DoD Directive 101.7 establishing
DoD policy regarding drunk and drugged driving. Under the Directive,
which applies to and must be implemented by all DoD services, it
is unlawful to operate a motor vehicle with a BAC of .10 or higher
on a military installation or in an area where traffic operations
are under military supervision. This policy has been adopted in
32 CFR Part 634.
Operating
a motor vehicle with a BAC of .10 is a violation also under the
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. § 911, and
the consequences of such a violation by DoD personnel are extremely
severe. In addition to losing driving privileges, personnel can
be disciplined, by non-judicial punishment or court martial. Punishments
can involve loss of pay, demotions, correctional custody and even
confinement, if appropriate. Such a violation can end the career
of an officer.
DoD
Directive 5525.4 governs traffic laws and regulations applicable
to any individual who operates a vehicle on a DoD installation by
assimilating state laws.
Pursuant to the Presidential directive dated March 3, 1998,
NHTSA has worked with DoD to promote the adoption of a national
.08 BAC legal limit. In accordance with the directive, DoD has initiated
plans to amend all applicable DoD Directives and regulations to
lower the legal limit on DoD installations from .10 BAC to .08 BAC.
In addition, DoD’s Joint Service Committee on Military Justice
has initiated plans to propose that the legal limit in the UCMJ
be lowered from .10 BAC to .08 BAC. This would require Congressional
action.
Other
Federal Properties
There are other Federal agencies that administer and have
Federal law enforcement jurisdiction over additional types of Federal
property. For example, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Department
of the Interior (DOI), has jurisdiction over public lands in the
United States and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Department of
Agriculture (USDA), has jurisdiction over National Forest System
lands.
Pursuant
to the Presidential directive dated March 3, 1998, NHTSA has worked
with the BLM and the USFS to determine whether a national .08 BAC
legal limit should be adopted for the Federal properties they administer
and over which they have Federal law enforcement jurisdiction.
There
are conditions, however, that apply to these Federal properties
that are different from those that apply to national parks and DoD
installations, and some of these conditions make it impractical
to adopt a national BAC legal limit that is different from the legal
limit established by state law.
|