DRUNK DRIVING

The Beer Institute’s self-serving ad Dec. 17 misleads in several ways. So-called drunk driving may be the beer industry’s version of trying to “address the problem” of mixing alcohol with gasoline, but it isn’t ours. Drinking --any amount of drinking--and driving is. One doesn’t need to pass the maximum legal limit to be at risk. “Think When You Drink,” the institute’s gimmick to garner public goodwill for its members, should have been “Think Before You Drink” to have real results. The object of drinking is most often not to think, or discern, but rather to indulge in emotions and fantasy.

RAY CHAVIRA, AVAILABILITY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, L.A. COUNTY ALCOHOL POLICY COALITION, San Gabriel