Posted 12/31/2005 05:40:00 PM by Douglas

We all know that drunk driving is illegal, but what if you're under the ridiculously low 0.08% BAL? That's legal, right? Not for long.

In an effort to make our roads safer, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, did some investigating and found that young men between the ages of 18 and 34 were responsible for the vast majority of drunk-driving accidents. But when asked, these young men made a distinction between being drunk and being buzzed.

Although that campaign focuses on the passengers, the new "Buzzed" campaign focuses on the drivers. It uses humorous public-service announcements, which will air on television, to talk about a serious subject.

One shows an extremely drunk young man joining a wedding band for a drum solo, adding the line "It's easy to tell when you've had way too many." It cuts to a young man laughing at the drunken drummer as he downs a drink himself and grabs his car keys. The tag line "But what if you've had just one too many? Buzzed driving IS drunk driving."

Except that it's not. The 0.08% limit was set to establish the point of legal intoxication, which is one of the most hilarious oxymorons ever devised. It's pretty clear that the police can throw you in jail for pretty much any reason they want, but that doesn't mean any charges will be filed. Why? Because no law has been broken. It's just the next step in making 0.00% the arrestable limit, which I predict is about five years away.

Happy New Years, kids!