Buzzed for the Holidays? Here's What Drunk Driving Could Cost You

They get it, people like to celebrate and often that means they like to drink, and just about everyone knows, or should know, that drunken driving can cost lives. But what about buzzed drinking?

Comes the word from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council: Don't do it. Their "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving" campaign aims to remind motorists that "a buzzed driving crash can happen to anyone, anywhere."

The cost to your bank account? Around $10,000 in fines, legal fees and inceased insurance rates, notes the NHTSA, which pales in comparison to the devasting loss of life and limb from drunken driving crashes, which in 2010 alone cost more than 10,000 lives.

"So, during this holiday season, amid all the hype, the shopping and the parties," the campaign aims to remind motorists of these six tips:

• Heed and spread the message about buzzed driving.

• Before drinking, designate a sober driver.

• If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation to get home safely.

• If your community has a program that offers free rides home, use it.

• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact your local police.

• Remember, "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving." If you know people who are about to drive or ride with someone who is impaired, take the driver’s keys and help them make other arrangements to get to their destination safely.