Sure you’ve had a few drinks tonight, but you’ve driven all your friends home before in far worse conditions. It shouldn’t matter what your blood alcohol content is (BAC) as long as you make it home, right? You’re the most sober one out of your group, and you can handle yourself.

The above scenario is becoming all too common, according to a recent study done by the University of Florida. Researchers found that one in three designated drivers do, in fact, consume alcohol before driving their friends home.

Lead researcher Adam Berry, a professor at the university, spoke with the Daily Mail about the study. “If you look at how people choose their designated drivers, oftentimes they’re chosen by who is least drunk or who has successfully driven intoxicated in the past — successful meaning got home in one piece,” he said. “That’s disconcerting.”

This news, unfortunately, is far from shocking. I’ve lost count the number of times our designated driver partied like it was 1999 with us—no one wants to be left out and it’s difficult to stay sober in a room full of drunken idiots. Still, continued curbs on acceptable BAC levels for driving have reduced deaths dramatically since the 1980s.

Before Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was established, most states BAC levels hovered around 0.15. Thanks to the group’s demonstrations and protests, however, new laws were drafted, and by 2004 every state in the U.S. finally accepted a reduced BAC level of 0.08.

Yet some claim this is no longer low enough. Just last month, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that the new lower standard of 0.05 BAC be instituted. The board has continued to try and curb the effects of drunk driving, which still accounts for a large portion of U.S. road deaths.

Most Americans think that we’ve solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it’s still a national epidemic,” NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said.

Despite the amount of lives saved since lower BAC standards were implemented, more than 10,000 people were fatal victims of drunk driving in 2010.

Experts once recommended that designated drivers find other things to enjoy at the party, like food or drinks. Now, more-realistic researchers recommend that the DD should party in all aspects—and if (or when) they drink, make sure they also are eating food and drinking non-alcoholic liquids to distill the effect.

The United States and the United Kingdom are the only countries that have a 0.08 BAC limit for driving. Nearly every other country falls under that limitation. Some nations, like Japan, even have a no tolerance policy for any BAC level.

So really, the standard laws of nature remain the same: men can drink more than women, and they handle it better. If your DD is really your “designated drunk driver” for the evening, you should probably elect one of your male friends to handle the wheel. Or, better yet, memorize the phone number of your local cab service and use it. Safety first, folks.