Drunk Driving vs Buzzed Driving
Drunk Driving and Buzzed Driving refer to driving under the influence of liquor (alcoholic). Drunk driving has become a bane of our society. The number of automobile accidents taking place because of drunk driving is at an all time high which has made everyone sit up and take notice of this phenomenon. These accidents leave many disabled and scores of people dead. Recently, there have been commercials shown on TV that have used the word buzzed in place of drunk which has made people confused as to what the difference between drunk and buzzed driving is.
For starters, buzzed is a synonym for drunk just as other words such as sloshed, inebriated and lubricated. Buzzed is a euphemism for being drunk, indicating that the person is drunk, but in better control than a completely drunk person. In that sense, a buzzed person is somewhat somber than a person who is drunk. Thus buzzed can be considered as a smaller degree of drunkenness. However, the recent commercials on TV seem to be clubbing the two words together saying buzzed driving is drunk driving.
However, according to many legal experts, there are instances when a person may have a buzz going from what he is consuming but still be well within the 0.08 BAC level to be booked under DUI in the country. Legally speaking, a person can have a buzz by steady drinking of alcohol over a period of time. Someone who is heavy, say over 150 pounds has to consume 4 beers in an hour to get to a BAC level of 0.08.
If someone has a buzz going, he or she may not face severe impairment and can still perform at a skill level that is permissible (driving). But the same cannot be said for a person who is drunk. Anyone who has reached the legal limit of drinking while driving is much more liable to feel impaired while a buzzed person is well within legal limit of drinking and as such it is unfair to book him under DUI.
Hence, buzzed driving is when you have been drinking but still just below the limit prescribed to qualify as a drunk driver.