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So, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and I’ve decided there’s nothing wrong with a little texting while driving.

I mean, as long as you keep your responses to a reasonable amount — say, a dozen characters, tops.

Seriously, what’s the harm in tapping out a quick “On my way,” or “Will do,” or “LOL,” or any number of cleverly chosen emoticons, as long as you don’t exceed the 12-character limit? Because as everyone knows, the real problem comes when you end up doing something beyond a certain arbitrary limit set by society.

This logic works for drinking and driving, too.

Back in 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended states reduce the blood-alcohol level that qualifies as drunken driving from the current 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. At that time, Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, told USA Today: “When the limit was .10, it was very difficult to get it lowered to .08. We don’t expect any state to go to .05.”

Well, guess what, Mr. Adkins …

This year, our expect-the-unexpected Utah Legislature heeded the NTSB’s call and made the drop.

It shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Way back in 1982, the NTSB recommended that states reduce the drunken-driving limit from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent. The following year, Utah became the first state to do so, and by 2004 all other states had joined “The Behave State” at 0.08 percent.

Now the federal safety group is lobbying to drop the legal limit. Again. And Utah is leading the charge. Also again.

The argument for those opposing the change has been predictable. The primary contention is that this is just another example of Utah’s predominant religion trying to shove its morals down everyone’s throats. The Standard-Examiner’s own editorial board claims the new blood alcohol content (BAC) limit is not a “legitimate safety issue,” insisting: “Of course the .05 BAC bill is a religious issue. In Utah, every alcohol bill is a religious issue.”

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And faster than you can say “I’m not as think as you drunk I am,” we’re once more plunged down the Mormons-vs.-non-Mormons rabbit hole.

So then, this is either a safety issue or a religious issue. But why can’t it be both?

The NTSB arguments are compelling: The risk of a crash at 0.05 percent BAC is about half as much as at 0.08 percent. And more than 100 countries have already set their drunken-driving levels at the lower 0.05 percent.

According to the 2013 USA Today story: “The board’s recommendation follows an effort in the European Union, which set a goal of cutting alcohol-related fatalities in half by 2010 and succeeded. Europe is now trying to cut the crashes in half again over the next decade.”

And that’s Europe, people. Not exactly known for either its contemporary religious fervor or its squeamishness toward the consumption of alcohol.

Ah, but because this is Utah, the easy answer to any difficult question is to play the religion card.

Nobody’s saying you can’t drink in Utah. (At least, not with this law …) But they are saying you shouldn’t drink and then operate a 3,500-pound piece of machinery. And for those worried about blowing the new .05 BAC limit, make other arrangements. Designate a driver. Call a cab. Take that award-winning mass transit system you’re always prattling on about.

Heck, call a Mormon.

Yeah, that’s the ticket! Next time you’ve had a couple of drinks and worry you might be in violation of the new driving law, call the bishop of your local LDS congregation, tell him you live in his ward boundaries and that you need a ride home. Bet he’ll find one for you.

And provided you don’t actually hurl on the vehicle upholstery, the ride home might present an opportunity for a little cross-cultural fence-mending. Your Mormon driver can show you he’s really not a condescending tool, and you can show him that even though you’ve had a drink or two, you haven’t been worshipping Satan or fornicating with animals.

Who knows? It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Or, at the very least, the repeal of the .05 law.

Because if this sort of thing happened often enough, your Mormon chauffeurs would eventually say, “Well, this picking up Gentiles every weekend is a pain in the Assyrian Empire.” And soon enough they’d pressure their LDS legislators to change the law back to .08 so they don’t have to keep doing the “Driving Miss Tipsy” routine.

One final bit of trivia: The 2013 NTSB meeting that produced the original 0.05 percent BAC recommendation was held on the 25th anniversary of the nation’s worst drunken-driving incident — a fiery crash just outside Carrollton, Kentucky, in which 27 people, mostly children, were killed and another 34 injured.

The crash occurred when a drunken motorist traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 slammed head-on into a school bus filled with a church youth group returning from an amusement park.

Hmmm, a bunch of church-goers killed by a drunk driver? Maybe it really is a religious issue after all.

Contact Mark Saal at 801-625-4272, or msaal@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @Saalman. Friend him on Facebook at facebook.com/MarkSaal.