Time magazine reports that a cultural shift toward bemused tolerance of moms’ drinking so they can cope with busy days is circling the drain along with discarded martinis. Indeed, as advanced by books and commercials, the thought of a happily drinking mom has become less liberating than sobering — especially since a big-news tragedy this summer.

That tragedy, of course, was the horrific drunk driving accident near Hawthorne, N.Y. which claimed eight lives, including that of Diane Schuler, a mother who’d reportedly had 10 drinks before hitting the highway with five kids in her car. Her wrong-way collision killed four of them and herself, along with three men in another car.

Time says this sensational story has had a wrenching effect on women whose routines and responsibilities include ferrying kids from place to place. Drinking isn’t as funny or fun now that Schuler’s catastrophe has served as a wakeup call, especially for women who relate to her life.

The fact is, more and more women are drinking today, thus narrowing the gulp gulf between themselves and men. And with more women driving, that means more women have DUI accidents and DWI arrests. Those women are learning too late that while unwinding is one thing, inflicting death or injury behind the wheel is quite another.

This doesn’t mean that today’s moms can’t resist the squeaky clean images foisted upon them for so many years in the popular culture. Not everyone should have to live up to Betty Crocker, June Cleaver or any other alleged standard of perfection. Yet Schuler’s tragedy does suggest that women should find other paths to liberation than inebriation.

They also should seek help if they realize they’re over-indulging without oversharing that bit of news. Schuler’s husband says he had no idea his wife was a heavy drinker. Now she’s dead, along with their daughter and three nieces. Closet binge-drinking doesn’t protect anyone.

While not everyone binge-drinks, as Schuler apparently did, such wanton consumption has begun cutting across all age groups. A recent Reuters report shows that these days, not only college kids drink alcohol in heavy binges, but also many Americans in their 50s or beyond.

Yes, it can happen with anyone — of any age and of either sex.

Thus, perhaps Time’s cautionary look at drinking moms needs a broader focus. It’s vital not just for mothers but for anyone to make a fresh distinction between unwinding with a social cocktail and destructive drunkenness via one too many. And that’s especially true if you then drive a car.

No matter how tasty a mixed drink may be, drinking and driving can be a fatal mix in itself. And the enormity of causing fatalities or severe injuries is never worth the brief satisfaction of having an indulgent drink before assuming the responsibility of driving.

If you or a loved one have been harmed by a drunk driver, alert a drunk driving lawyer or attorney with Jim S. Adler & Associates, and fight back in the legal arena. Far beyond Schuler’s sad case, it’s crucial for all of us to resist the scourge of drunk driving, which still kills 16,000 Americans each year.

No, Schuler wasn’t alone, and moms should not be singled out. But that doesn’t change one sobering need: Car carnage, when inflicted by anyone, must be stopped.

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