The U.S. Department of Transportation recently reported that 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have received $47.8 billion in federal funds because they lowered their lawful blood alcohol content to 0.08.

"The people of 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have shown that they will not tolerate alcohol-impaired drivers on their roads," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta.

Meanwhile, Colorado, Delaware and Minnesota had 2 percent of their highway construction funds withheld as of the end of fiscal year 2003, Oct. 1, 2003.

Colorado and Minnesota enacted 0.08 blood alcohol content laws – effective July 1, 2004, for Colorado and Aug. 1, 2005, for Minnesota – but were not eligible for the fiscal year 2004 grants. New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were the latest additions to the 0.08 blood alcohol content roster.

States were encouraged to adopt the 0.08 level when Congress adopted it as the national standard for impaired driving. The U.S. DOT says the penalty for not complying with the law increases in 2 percent increments each year to a maximum of 8 percent in fiscal year 2007 and continues at that rate annually thereafter.