What Non-Americans Should Know About Drinking & Driving in Chicago Fire

NBC's drama series about firefighters juggling their professional duties and personal problems has been a major hit for the network for more than a decade.

Fans have praised the series for its excellent acting and dignified portrayal of firefighter duties.

Dick Wolf, the creator of the famous Law & Order franchise, made a big bet on developing an entire franchise of series set in various Chicago institutions, and his bet has paid off beautifully, as most of these series, including Chicago Fire, are still airing and doing better than ever.

Chicago Fire is certainly the quintessential American series, digging deep into what it really means to work and live in the US at a given time.

And while for the most part it doesn't affect the viewing experience of non-American fans, a couple of moments did manage to raise eyebrows of the international audiences.

People abroad are perplexed as to why the characters in Chicago Fire often drive around in their cars after having a beer or two. Shouldn't that be forbidden?

Not really. American laws allow 0.08% blood alcohol content for driving, and while that sounds pretty strict, in real life most people can stay below that level even after a can of beer.

And given the fact that most of the characters in the Chicago Fire series are hardworking and very well trained firefighters, even a couple of beers can't put them outside the legal limit.

However, it is strictly forbidden in the US to have an open container of alcohol in a moving vehicle, so you won't see anything like that in network TV series, with the only exception being if the character doing it is not portrayed positively.

Chicago Fire has never allowed its good guys to behave in this way, and even though some people believe that driving after any amount of alcohol is strictly forbidden, the characters on the show do everything legally.

After all, they are firefighters, not criminals.