Utah is about to implement the strictest drunk-driving laws in the country — just in time for New Year’s Eve.Going into effect Dec. 30 is a law signed by Republican Gov. Gary Herbert in March 2017 that lowers the legal blood-alcohol level of 0.05 percent or higher, a sharp drop from the national level of 0.08. The law also states that anyone with an illegal blood-alcohol concentration level who drives in “a negligent manner causing the death of another” will be charged with homicide.The National Transportation Safety Board has long recommended the more strict checks on drunk driving. Utah is the first state to actually make the leap. Although drunk-driving deaths have hit their lowest rate since 1982, they still account for 29 percent of all vehicle-related fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In fact, Utah had the lowest percentage of alcohol-related vehicular fatalities in 2017 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.“Despite decades of public campaigns and other efforts to discourage driving after drinking, survey and observational data show that many people continue to do so,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement addressing the new law. “Over the last five years, there were 54,402 arrests for DUI in Utah, which represents an average of 29.8 per day.”Drinkers will hit a 0.05 percent blood-alcohol level after about three drinks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the point when people start exhibing “impaired judgment” and “exaggerated behavior,” the CDC said.Cover: File photo dated 09/12/15 of car keys placed next to a pint of larger in a pub in north London. Yui Mok/PA Wire URN:40249321 (Press Association via AP Images)