Turning 21 is a godsend for just about any college student. You suddenly have the ability to go into a bar, get carded and know that you will not be kicked out when the bouncer notices the ID picture is that of a 47-year-old man.Being of age and going to bars also carries a responsibility. Being the sober or designated driver is part and parcel of the bar hopping experience, especially in a city where flagging a taxi is no easy task.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has proposed an idea to the bar-going crowd that seems almost too good to be true: a unified closing time for bars across a city.

According to the MADD Web site, the organization advocates “setting uniform statewide cutoff limits on the sale of alcoholic beverages in order to end the practice of ‘bar hopping’ to find establishments with later closing hours for ‘one last drink’ with the likelihood of impaired driving as a result.”

This is not a bad idea for those who wish to stay at bars until closing time. Instead of closing out one bar at midnight and then stumbling to a second location, pacing can take place at just one bar.

By no means is this condoning drunk driving or even moderately sober driving; this is just a way to ensure the safety of other drivers on the road. There will be people who leave the bars at closing time after too many drinks — it is a fact in a city with a nightlife. This proposal keeps them sequestered to a certain time while driving. This keeps people who should not drive from hitting the roads during the peak bar hours on a Saturday night.

MADD is taking steps to reach a compromise with an idea that will enable some people to sober up before driving by having a later last call.

Associate editor Marcus Murphree for the editorial board