Lawmakers set out Monday to lower the legal limit for driving drunk in Washington.

The move comes as deadly crashes involving drivers who had been drinking alcohol are at levels not seen in more than a decade.

Washington recorded 670 traffic fatalities in 2021 of which 202 people died in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver — the highest number since 2009, according to data compiled by the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission.

Democratic Sens. John Lovick, of Mill Creek, and Marko Liias, of Everett, are pushing Senate Bill 5002 to reduce the maximum blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, for drivers from 0.08% to 0.05%. At that mark, Washington would join Utah with the toughest standard in the nation.

“Our roads are not as safe as they should be and they are not as safe they could be,” Lovick, a retired state trooper, said at a public hearing on the bill Monday by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. Drunk driving is the offense and the state Legislature needs to be the defense, he said.

Gov. Jay Inslee supports the bill. So too does the Washington State Patrol

“There’s one substance that can lead to drunk driving in Washington state. It’s not sunflower seeds. It’s alcohol,” James McMahan, policy director for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs told a Senate panel Monday. “We think this bill can save lives.”