Drinkers Want Oprah to Drive

By C. Young

Wednesday November 21, 2001 11:05 AM EST

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The concept of the "designated driver" has been around since the late 1980s when programs like "Cheers" and "The Cosby Show" started promoting the idea of finding a sober person to drive you home when you've poured a few many down your throat to operate a car safely. But if you were drunk, and had your choice of sober celebrity drivers, who would entrust with your life and your car? According to an informal survey conducted by brewer Anheuser-Busch, Oprah Winfrey got 40 percent of the vote, beating such stars Jennifer Lopez, Jay Leno, George Clooney, Jackie Chan, Will Smith, Julia Roberts and Rosie O'Donnell. "Oprah doesn't surprise me," said Jim Congable, founder of the National Designated Drivers Association. "People are looking for someone who, one, cares about them and two, is not going to lecture. When we train our volunteers, we tell them never to lecture. Instead, we congratulate the person for deciding not to drive." It is estimated that each year the United States has over million alcohol-related car wrecks a year resulting in 16,000 deaths.