DEAR EDITOR: Recently, President Clinton signed into law a bill approved by Congress which requires that each state lower its legal threshold for drunk driving to .08 percent blood-alcohol concentration (BAC). Louisiana, with a legal BAC of 1.0, will have until Oct. 1, 2003, to pass a .08 BAC law that would meet the provisions of the existing federal incentive grant or face the withholding of 2 percent $5.2 million) of our federal highway construction funds on Oct. 1, 2004; 4 percent ($10.3 million) of our funds on Oct. 1, 2005; 6 percent ($15.5 million) of our funds on Oct. 1, 2006; and 8 percent ($20.7 million) of our funds on Oct 1, 2007, and every year hereafter, until we pass this life- saving legislation. The federal mandate is a bittersweet victory for us at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), as we have tried unsuccessfully for nearly 10 years to lower Louisianas BAC level to .08. Sweet, because there is no doubt that our legislators eventually will comply with the mandate, thus saving 40-50 lives each year in our state. With the amount of money that is at stake, they simply cant afford not to. Bitter, because it will ultimately be the loss of money, not the loss of innocent lives, that causes our lawmakers to finally enact this life-saving legislation. Historically, Gov. Mike Foster has supported most of MADDs legislation, which is designed to stop drunk driving, support victims of this violent crime, and prevent under-age drinking. However, on the issue of .08 BAC, Fosters support has been noticeably and disappointingly absent, despite the fact that the Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, MADD and, indeed, his own DWI task force, strongly endorse it. In response to the recent .08 federal mandate, Foster stated that he believes passing a .08 bill in Louisiana will be difficult because “Louisianas culture is against it.” I believe that in this case, Foster is dead wrong. Louisianas culture is not defined by the liquor industry or by its legislature. Louisianas culture is defined by its citizens, and Louisianas citizens wholeheartedly support .08. In March 1998, a state-wide poll conducted by Southern Media & Opinion Research revealed that 79 percent of Louisiana voters want their legislators to lower the states legal limit of intoxication to .08. Eighty-three percent of voters think that a person who has had up to three drinks on an empty stomach in one hour (the liquor industrys definition of .08) is too drunk to drive. Seventy-seven percent of our citizens fear drunk drivers more than young drivers or speeding drivers as the greatest threat to safety on the highway and, when asked which group they trust most to represent to the legislature their interests on highway safety issues, 83 percent of Louisiana voters trust Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In March 2001, the Louisiana Legislature will once again have the opportunity to pass a .08 bill. Interestingly, until the federal mandate begins in 2003, the federal incentive grant is still in effect. This means that, should our legislature pass .08 in March, Louisiana will receive up to $2.3 million on Oct. 1, 2001, then again on Oct. 1, 2002. Our legislators have the power to gain, in a two-year period, more than $4 million in incentive funds for Louisiana, while saving nearly 100 of its citizens lives. It is simply a matter of doing something sooner that they will be forced to do later. On behalf of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and its 23,000 Louisiana members and supporters, I call on Gov. Foster and our legislature to do the right thing by supporting .08 in 2001. Catherine M. Childers Executive Director, Louisiana MADD