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I was at the library, Ociffer

By C.S. Wiggins

After pulling over a weaving car, the officer asks, "Have you been drinking?" The driver answers yes. Then the officer asks, "Where?" Well, look out if your establishment's name is the next sound heard. I just read "N.J. Sharpens Liquor-law Policing," in USA Today. It begins:

The state of New Jersey has a question for motorists stopped on suspicion of drunken driving: Where did you have your last drink?

Police must send the answers to state investigators looking for bars and restaurants where libations flow too freely. (P) New Jersey is the latest jurisdiction to adopt the tactic. This year, Texas started a smaller program, and Boulder, Colo., used last-drink data to get bars to be more careful about whom they serve. At year's end, the Washington State Patrol will publish its annual list of top 'last drink' locations.

What a clever tactic to curb drunk driving. And nightclub attendance. Establishments which push alcohol sales first, and food sales second, are going to sell proportionately more alcohol than their counterparts. That's fine. The problem, as New Jersey's police no doubt have found, is that some establishments fail to toe the mark when it comes to withholding alcohol from noticeably intoxicated persons. NJ's enforcement effort does not offend me from an establishment owner's perspective -- if the officers are working with the establishments to curb the problem. After all, it is not illegal (or even negligent) for waiters and bartenders to serve drinks to persons who then become drunk. Most restaurants have little problem plopping a bottle of red on a two-top. Or even a pitcher of margarita. Who's to say whether the customers will consume their beverages responsibly; it is the drinkers who must take responsibility for their decisions.

That said, it is negligent (in many states, like Georgia) to serve a noticeably intoxicated person who you know will be driving soon. A high-end, NJ drinking establishment might go to lengths to prevent its customers from drinking and driving, while a low-end restaurant might do the opposite, promoting irresponsible drinking. According to the USA Today article, the bar need not worry because:

• The agency uses the last-drink data only to steer investigators to apparent problem spots, not as evidence to justify license revocations or fines.


• Places are inspected only if they are named repeatedly as a last stop. He said the ABC has a list of 10 top targets, all of which have at least five hits in the 1,000-entry last-drink database.


• When inspectors visit, they can charge establishments only with violations they actually see.

Full post as published by Meeting the Sin Laws on December 03, 2007 (boomark / email).