Understanding the Legal Alcohol Limits in New Jersey: A Global Perspective

Reiterating Alsiasi’s promise to provide “international and local news with a touch of humor,” the site’s latest article on the legal limit for alcohol in NJ and similar laws around the world is in keeping with this unexpected yet informative mission.

How to stay out of trouble – and keep your license in New Jersey While being aware of drinking laws is prudent no matter where in the United States you head to have a little fun, the legal limits for alcohol vary by state, and New Jersey is perhaps on the stricter end of the spectrum. The drinking laws in the Garden state leave little room for error, being applicable at any time, irrespective of the fact that legal drinking age is 21 years. And even when it comes to the state’s casinos, which have lower legal limits, the tolerance is still low.

In fact, the legal limit for alcohol in NJ has been known to get individuals charged with disorderly conduct, public disturbance and/or assault – something they’d probably gladly pay a lawyer to sort out. Thus knowledge of these somewhat stringent limits is crucial, as failure to comply could not only result in other drivers’ and pedestrians’ safety being put in danger, but you losing your license. However, residents and travelers don’t just need to keep an eye on the legal limit for alcohol in NJ but in all other states they travel to as well.

Alcohol limits: How other US states’ orders compare to the legal limit for alcohol in NJ Every state in America (except for the District of Columbia) has its own drinking laws and legal limit for blood alcohol level for both operating a private vehicle and public transport or passenger vehicle. But if you think that these laws are generally unrelaxed elsewhere in the country, then you could not be more far from the truth.

Let’s look at Pennsylvania, for instance, where the legal limit for alcohol is actually a little less strict than that in NJ or any other state – only 0.08. In most other places across the United States, though, the legal limits do range from 0.04 to 0.08. Where the legal limits get interesting is in Utah, whose legal limit for alcohol is a mere 0.00. This means you cannot be under the influence of any amount of alcohol in order to legally drive. Thus, it’s no surprise that, according to Esquire, the state has one of the lowest rates of drunk driving fatalities in the U.S.

But, as you might expect, there are some cons to this varied perspective on liberty and individual freedom of choice. In Utah, for instance, where the legal limit for alcohol for private vehicles is 0.05, you will find that the state is infamous for being unfavorable to visitors. Should you visit the state and have a meal at a bar or restaurant, you will notice how the staff are trained to stop serving an intoxicated individual, they will even not allow you to drink at all if you feel tipsy.

Whereas if you travel to some other destinations, such as Ecuador, Brazil, or Bolivia, you might find it hard to believe that they have even lower blood alcohol limits. While you could argue that it’s a common misconception that drinking laws are as strict in places like these as in the US, other than the 0.05 legal limits in Utah, examples of nations that have lower legal limits are found especially in Europe, where they vary from a mere 0.02 – like in Slovakia for instance – to 0.05.

Where could your next drinking possibly get you a DUI? For illustration purposes, let’s go over how the legal limit for blood alcohol level is the same in many other countries, such as Canada and Mexico. In Canada the legal limit for alcohol is 0.05, and in Mexico (at least in the majority of its states) the limit is 0.08.

In the European Union, the same limit applies, but in some other countries like Georgia and Serbia, the legal limit for alcohol is 0.02. India and the United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, have a somewhat more relaxed yet comprehensible drinking laws in regards to the legal limit for blood alcohol level, where citizens’ freedom is not questioned and fairness is kept in mind. With a legal limit of 0.05, the drinking laws are similar to those in most European countries and states are the U.S.

Are there any loopholes in the drinking laws? Actually, it depends on where you are. Legal limits in most parts of the world are defined in terms of respect to the vehicle model being used. In some of these countries, though, as soon as the vehicle is considered private, such as a taxi for instance, the known legal limit for alcohol will apply.

But while glass walls separate the nearby cars from each other in NJ, this is hardly the case in the streets of Mexico, where everything could be packed together, including pedestrians. Thus, driving under intoxication is treated like any other offense, and New Jersey is pretty much on board.

For more information on alcohol laws, you can visit Wikipedia.