Beer vendor liable for drunk driver

[selena]

Originally Posted by Torn

(Sorry for jumping in Selena)

Yes she *CAN* be, but WILL she be?

I doubt it, since again, that is not the intent of the law. You would have to prove she knew you were drunk when she served you that one beer and that is the issue since she can prove she served you only 1 beer.

But how easy would it be to prove she didn't know you were drunk when she serves you 8 shots with that beer in 23 mins?

Actually, I'm glad you did, Torn. You are articulating much better than I am on this topic.

As he said, dareutwo, yes, I can be. As well as the bar can be. They would of course go more heavily after the establishment than me, simply, because of the depth of the pockets, as you say.

If we want to go back to Linkster's post and responsiblity, then I as a bartender have some. I also have a choice. If I think you don't need any more to drink, I don't serve you. It's that simple. So if I was the bartender in Torn's example, I would have made a horrid choice. Just because you walk in a bar and want a drink doesn't mean you get one.

All of this is a reason that...back when I worked weekend nights...I made sure I gave last call a good hour before any place close around. That way I didn't have to deal with their leftover drunks, or any problems that might stem from it.

For the record, I live in a very small town. There is not a taxi company in my entire county. So that also contributes to my awareness of what I do behind the bar. It's not as simple as "call them a taxi."

I also lost a very good buddy out of our bar. He left on his bike...not even close to drunk, but having had a few...at the same time another regular patron did. About a mile out of town, the one guy went to pass a couple cars on a double yellow line at the same time as my friend went to make a left hand turn off the highway. He died at the scene, and the bar (the one I work/ed at) got sued by the heirs. Thank God I was not working that night. Though I did buy my buddy his last beer.

That, more than anything else, used to keep me up at night, after I had locked the doors and went home....hoping all the people I served that night made it home without harming themselves or another. Just the rememberance of that night, and what it felt like.