No. And it is a minor crime, usually.
Think about the word "minor" and what it means. It only has meaning within the context in which it is used. A "minor" crime is still a crime. The word is only used to give comparison to those crimes that are "major", such as murder, rape and arson.
Drunk driving is a crime to the degree it poses an imminent danger to the safety of others. It has proven that it does. Once a drunk driver actually hurts someone, then it isn't just the drunk driving, but the actual harm he has caused that makes it more serious.
In other words, drunk driving is a minor crime until the day he runs into something or someone and causes property damage, personal injury or death, and then it changes from drunk driving into aggravated assault or manslaughter; more serious crimes.
So, I don't think this guy was minimizing to call his drunk driving conviction a minor crime. It doesn't change a thing for him though, in terms of his punishment. DUIs will get you jail time.
We use threats by action as a crime when it can kill someone.
Think if someone shot a machine gun across a school yard at recess but didn’t hit a single child; all the bullets went straight through and hit in a field behind the school.
Is it a crime because no one, that time, was hurt?