The National Transportation Safety Board has made a recommendation for more strict drunk driving laws. On Tuesday, the NTSB recommended the blood alcohol content legal limit be lowered to .05 percent.
"Alcohol impaired crashes are not accidents, they are crimes," said Chairman of the NTSB, Debbie Hersman.
In Alaska, the current legal limit for a drivers B.A.C. is .08%. All 50 states hold drivers to the same legal limit.
Anchorage DUI defense attorney, Leigh Ann Bauer, said there is not enough data to prove making the change will make roads safer.
"When are you at the point of impairment? Our states have determined that at .08% and I don't see a reason to change that," said Bauer. "I think that's a good, solid, scientifically valid number - there's studies for that and I think it should remain there."
Bauer said changing the legal limit would require additional laws to be to changed. She said currently if a person has a B.A.C. of .04% they are presumed not impaired.
"I also think that the standardized field sobriety test, those road sides tests that the officers do to determine whether or not there's probably cause to arrest, those are not validated at a .05%," said Bauer. "There's a lot of problems with taking the current point zero eight down to a .05%."
Royal Bidwell, with the Anti-drunk driving organizations Forget Me Not Mission, says while the opposition to the change may be strong he wants to see the change come to Alaska.
"The liquor industry is going to be opposed to this and very loudly," said Bidwell, "and it's because of the economical impact. Are we going to be willing to put the general public at risk so that a very small number of businesses are not impacted financially? I don't think that would be the responsible thing to do."
Last year 11, people were killed in alcohol related crashes compared to 34 people ten years ago, according to data from the Alaska Highway Safety Office.
The Department of Public Safety commissioner, Joe Masters, said that reduction can be contributed to increased enforcement on roadways, media campaigns and road engineering.
Contact Mallory Peebles