What does buzzed mean? What about buzzed driving? Seriously, we’re not asking rhetorically, what does buzzed mean to you?
Depending on who’s asking and who’s answering – you’re going to get some very different answers. We’ve explored this idea that definitions are subjective before. Consider the many definitions of addiction or the different views on what recovery means.
But what about buzzed? Is buzzed driving drunk driving? What are the dangers involved in getting behind the wheel after one or two drinks?
Join us as we find out.
Dictionary Definition of Buzzed
According to The Free Dictionary, buzzed means:
A state of pleasant intoxication, as from alcohol.
Sounds about right. Buzzed is the good feeling you get after a couple of drinks. It’s the feeling of euphoria when you and your friends finish the first round. It’s a feeling of happiness and contentment.
It’s not when the room’s spinning. It’s not when you get the 2am munchies and end up at Taco Bell. It’s not vomiting or blacking out.
Now that we know the dictionary definition of buzzed, let’s look at what the general public perceives it to be.
The Public’s Perception of Buzzed
If you ask five people what buzzed means, you’re going to get five different answers..all of which share a few similarities.
While there’s considerable debate over the number of beers that turns buzzed to drunk, most people can agree on the following:
Buzzed isn’t drunk. It’s a few beers with your friends at happy hour. It’s a couple glasses of wine with dinner. It’s a cocktail before bed. We all know the difference between buzzed and falling down drunk.
Getting a bit more specific, what does the general public think about buzzed driving? Based on talking to a lot of people over the years, we’ve come up with the following response:
I’ve only had a few beers and I’m definitely fine to drive home. I don’t even feel it really. It’d be annoying and a hassle to call a cab and come back here to pick my car up tomorrow. I’m not even going that far. I’ll be sure to drive slow and carefully. I’ll be fine.
That doesn’t sound too bad, right? If that’s what the general public think buzzed and buzzed driving mean, well, it’s okay to drive after one or two drinks, right?
What Buzzed Driving Means to Police
Wrong! That was a rhetorical question and if you thought for one second driving under the influence of a few beers is alright, please reconsider or the police will reconsider for you.
Which brings us to the police definition of buzzed driving. We hope you never have to have a police officer explain the following to you:
Buzzed driving is drunk driving. Even after one drink your judgment’s impaired and getting behind the wheel of a car can lead to disaster.
Here we get to the heart of the disagreements over what buzzed and buzzed driving mean. On one hand, you have the dictionary and the public saying that buzzed and drunk are different. On the other, you have the police saying buzzed and drunk aren’t different when it comes to driving.
So who’s right? Here at Malvern, we err on the side of the police. We’ve simply seen too many lives lost, too many family’s changed forever, by buzzed drunk driving.
What Buzzed Driving Means to the Victim of a Drunk Driving Accident
The idea that drunk driving’s bad is something we, as a culture, hear all the time. In fact, the idea’s become so ubiquitous that we often tune it out in much the same way we tune out the message that cigarettes kill.
It doesn’t matter how many times we hear it, though, it’s the truth. Drunk driving leads to disaster. It’s that simple.
It isn’t pleasant to think about…but it’s necessary. After all, people are still getting into cars after having a few drinks. People are still driving buzzed drunk.
Consider this firsthand account from the victim of a drunk driving accident:
I was driving home late, the roads were dark, and I never saw him coming. He clearly didn’t see me either because he came flying through the red light, right into my car. It was a horrible experience and a mess but thank God no one died.
Scary, right?
What to Do if You See a Buzzed Driver
What do buzzed and buzzed driving mean? They mean danger and tragedy. End of story.
If you’re driving and you see someone you suspect is driving buzzed, follow this great guide from M.A.D.D.
First, stay as far away from the other vehicle as possible.
Second, do not try to pass the vehicle or signal the driver to pull over. Doing so could result in a collision.
Third, take notice of the license plate number along with details of the vehicle including make, model and color. However, make sure you don’t compromise your own safety trying to obtain this information.
Finally, pull over and call 911. Give the exact location of the vehicle, including the name of the road or cross streets and the direction the vehicle is traveling. Give a complete description of the vehicle and the manner in which the vehicle is being driven.
Then leave the rest up to the heroes that work hard to make our roads safe.