DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A tough, new national standard that is aimed at reducing drunken driving is about to become the law of the land. President Clinton will sign the measure in a ceremony set to get underway this hour. CNN's Patty Davis is at the White House this morning and joining us live from there. Patty, good morning.</s>PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. That new federal standard will be .08 blood alcohol content. Now what does that mean for the average 170-pound man. That man would have to drink more than four drinks in an hour to reach this .08 on an empty stomach. As far as women is concerned, take a 137-pound women, that would be three drinks in an hour, also on an empty stomach. Right now 19 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia already have a .08 blood alcohol limit in place. But the others, many of whom are not as strict, will have to adopt those new standards by 2004. If they do not, they will be penalized by losing federal highway money, money for highways, money for roads, money that is very crucial to those states. So there is a real incentive to do that. Critics say that this is a states' rights issue. And in fact, they say that it will penalize social drinkers. But the White House says that its studies that it is pointing to show that it will save 500 lives and that is what it's going for here: saving lives. Patty Davis, CNN, live at the White House.
President Clinton to Sign Into Law Tougher National Standard Aimed at Reducing Drunken Driving