Pass Me Another Drink

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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It may be the recession, but that never gets in the way of a good party. Whether it's the traditional blow-outs like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, or just a cookout with a few friends standing around the BBQ nursing cans of beer, there's a potential problem if you are a little too generous with the alcohol. And, let's face it, we all need a little sustenance to be able to face each new day. Not as a slippery slope into alcoholism, of course. But just to unwind, shooting the breeze and nibbling on a chicken wing (hopefully dead).

Now, as if there wasn't enough to worry about, those activist judges have started to get at us partiers. Those Brits used to have something with the idea of their homes as castles. High walls to keep out the local sheriff, his deputies and any passing members of the DEA. So, what's the problem? Well, let's suppose you are passing around the cans or pouring into glasses. Everyone is getting gently mellow. Are you going to let them all drive home? What happens if one or more of your guests is involved in an accident on the way home?

Decades ago, states decided that bartenders should ...
... start to care about whether their drunken customers drove home. Across the nation, the Dram Shop Acts made any bartender liable if he or she had served obviously intoxicated customers, knowing they were going to drive. But there was no mass movement to extend this principle to the home where you give the booze away. Lawmakers said it was reasonable to make a commercial organization liable - bars can insure against this liability. What people do in their own homes is their private business. Well, that was then. Now bars across the US are feeling the pinch. It's cheaper for people to buy their booze in Wal-Mart or Target, and drink at home. So the courts are extending the principles of the Dram Shop Acts to you as social hosts. Courts are holding you negligent if you let an obviously drunken guest drive away from your door.

In some states, lawmakers are offering some degree of protection to social hosts, but the trend is spreading fast. So, if you are planning a feast with alcohol flowing, you should build in a period for sobering up before letting folk attempt to drive home. Plenty of black coffee should be on offer. If that's not working, call for cabs to take your guests home. Why? Because the policies coming from the usual car insurance quotes don't cover you when third parties have an accident. It's possible your homeowners policy has some coverage, but check it out. Assume the worst. Assume you have no insurance against this risk. If one of your guests does get into an accident and only has cheap car insurance, the victims will come after you for damages. Now that's a real sobering thought. So, before you get all generous with the Christmas spirit this year, think about everyone else on the road and have a safe New Year without claims against you and your family.