Way too drunk to drive: about 48 people a day are killed by drunk drivers. Some of those drivers are extremely drunk.

• Author: Mejeur, Jeanne

All are sad stories; some are heartbreaking. Kris Mansfield survived his tour of duty in Iraq, only to be killed by a drunk driver less than four months after coming home to Colorado. The drunk driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) was an extremely high .217.

Seven-year-old Katie Flynn was the flower girl in her aunt's wedding and was riding home from the ceremony when their limousine was hit by a drunk driver going the wrong way on a Long Island parkway. Katie was killed instantly, along with the limo driver. Six members of the family were seriously injured. The drunk driver's BAC was .28.

These stories have more in common than a young life tragically cut short. The drivers in both instances were extremely drunk, about three times the legal limit. High BAC drivers are one of the most persistent and intractable facets of the drunk driving problem.

EXTREMELY DRUNK AND DRIVING

Of the more than 42,000 traffic deaths in 2003, 40 percent were alcohol related. Twenty-two percent involved drivers with BAC levels in excess of .16. That's twice the legal limit of .08. It's also incredibly impaired.

"High BAC drivers are overrepresented in alcohol-related fatal crashes," says Anne McCartt, vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "For this reason, there's nothing misguided about deterrence programs targeting them."

At least 32 states have enacted high BAC laws, often called aggravated or extreme drunk driving. States with high BAC laws establish a two-tiered system of drunk driving offenses. The basic drunk driving limit is still set at .08 but a second, higher BAC level is established for drivers who are very drunk. States' high BAC thresholds range from .15 to .20.

Some states impose stiffer penalties for a high BAC offense, while others make it a separate offense, with separate penalties. At least 11 states considered bills to establish a high BAC threshold during the 2005 legislative session, but the only bill to pass was in Texas. The new law imposes higher fines and ignition interlocks for drivers with a BAC in excess of .15.

Are high BAC laws effective? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says yes. In a study of Minnesota's laws, "Enhanced Sanctions for Higher BACs: Evaluation of Minnesota's High-BAC Law," published in 2004, NHTSA found that they worked. Minnesota's high BAC threshold is relatively high, at .20, but strong sanctions have made it effective. The study found that the high BAC law lowered recidivism and refusal rates among high BAC first-time offenders.

GET A BAC TEST

It's hard to prosecute a drunk driver if you don't have a BAC test result. Juries want to know how drunk the driver was. For prosecutors, it's the single...