06:17 PM EST on Tuesday, December 27, 2005

By TIM KNOL / 6NEWS

6NEWS

A new TV ad campaign is set to launch with a warning that "buzzed" drinkers shouldn't be driving either.

It's being called the biggest push against drunken driving in 20 years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now putting up billboards and soon people will start seeing TV ads. This time of year drunken driving accidents historically increase. A lot of people are out at holiday parties and many of them drive home thinking they're not drunk, just buzzed.

Burning cars, people killed. These scenes have repeated on Charlotte area highways over the past two months. 

Police set up checkpoints and target drunk drivers. Officials with AAA said the number of deaths from drunken driving accidents is not going down. More than 17,000 people have been killed in the U.S. last year according to AAA.

"People are not getting or heading the message," said Tom Crosby with AAA of the Carolinas.

NTSA officials said the problem is many drunken drivers do not believe they are drunk. Specifically men between the ages of 21 and 34 like Dirk McCann.

“I think you can go out and have a couple of beers and still drive home,” McCann said.

They believe they are only buzzed. 

"Everything about drunken driving is they can't drive as well as their mind thinks they can," Crosby said.

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These people are the target of the new campaign.

"It’s easy to tell if you've had way too many, but what if you've had just one too many?" the new ad said.

NTSA hopes a change in an old message will get more people to listen.

"What we found is that buzzed driving is something they think is ok, just getting a buzz on would be alright. And it's not it’s a deadly consequence,” said Marilena Amoni with NTSA.

The belief is the old “friends don't let friends drive drunk” campaign was good. But after 20 years it was time for a change.