The United States is planning to lower the acceptable Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) from .08 to .05 for those driving a motor vehicle. Currently the U.S. is among a small number of countries, such as Iraq, that haven’t made this switch.
On May 14, the National Transportation Safety Board voted to recommend that states lower their laws determining maximum permitted blood-alcohol content levels. According to NBC News:
Most countries in Europe, including Russia, most of South America and Australia, have set BAC levels at .05 to constitute drunken driving. When Australia dropped its BAC level from .08 to .05, provinces reported a 5-18 percent drop in traffic fatalities… At .05 BAC, the risk of having an accident increases by 39 percent. At .08 BAC, the risk of having an accident increases by more than 100 percent. [source]