Do not drink and drive tonight. Not even if you have had only one or two. Not even if you have had just a drop. There are plenty of other ways to get around:

• Appoint a designated driver.

• Take a taxi.

• Walk home.

• Ask for a ride from a sober driver.

• Call someone to come get you.

Some people, especially the bar crowd, still think society is understanding about drunken driving. At one time, back in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a forgiveness culture surrounding drinking and driving. Police would drive motorists they caught home or even simply advise them to go straight home. People who were drunk were considered not responsible for their decisions. They were a good laugh and dismissed as harmless. Drunk drivers would get a pass, basically.

Not anymore. Not even a little bit. Those days are long gone. Drunken people definitely are responsible for their actions, especially when they get behind the wheel. And police these days are eager to bust drunken drivers. They want them off the road.

Have fun on New Year’s Eve. Celebrate a new year and new possibilities. Just don’t end up being a headline on the front of this newspaper.