The holiday season means party time for many people.  However, hosts who serve alcohol should take steps to limit their liquor liability and make sure they have the proper insurance.

Social host liability, the legal term for the criminal and civil responsibility of a person who furnishes liquor to a guest, can have a serious impact on party throwers. Social host liability, also known as “Dram Shop Liability” laws vary widely from state to state, but 43 states including New York have them on the books. Most of these laws also offer an injured person, such as the victim of a drunk driver, a method to sue the person who served the alcohol. There are circumstances under these laws where criminal charges may also apply.  Even if the Dram Shop Act does not apply, a host can still be civilly liable under ordinary negligence standards.

“Because you can be held legally responsible for your guests’ actions after they leave your party, hosts need to be particularly careful,” said Ellen Melchionni, president of the NYIA.  ”While a social host is not liable for injuries sustained by the drunken guest (as they are also negligent), the host can be held liable for third parties and may even be liable for passengers of the guest who have been injured in their car.”

Whether you are hanging out with a small group of friends for cocktails or throwing a big family bash, remember that a good host is a responsible host and needs to take steps to ensure guests get home safely if they have been drinking.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Guests

If you plan to serve alcohol at a holiday party, the following tips promote safe alcohol consumption and reduce your social host liability exposure:

• Make sure you understand your state laws. Before sending out party invitations, familiarize yourself with your state’s social host liability laws. These laws vary widely from state to state. Some states do not impose any liability on social hosts. Others limit liability to injuries that occur on the host’s premises. Some extend the host’s liability to injuries that occur anywhere a guest who has consumed alcohol goes. Many states have laws that pertain specifically to furnishing alcohol to minors.
• Consider venues other than your home for the party. Hosting your party at a restaurant or bar with a liquor license, rather than at your home, will help minimize liquor liability risks.
• Hire a professional bartender. Most bartenders are trained to recognize signs of intoxication and are better able to limit consumption by partygoers.
• Encourage guests to pick a designated driver who will refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages, so that he or she can drive other guests home.
• Be a responsible host/hostess. Limit your own alcohol intake, so that you will be better able to judge your guests’ sobriety.
• Offer non-alcoholic beverages, and always serve food. Eating and drinking plenty of water, or other non-alcoholic beverages, can help counter the effects of alcohol.
• Do not pressure guests to drink or rush to refill their glasses when empty. Never serve alcohol to guests who are visibly intoxicated.
• Stop serving liquor toward the end of the evening. Switch to coffee, tea, and soft drinks.
• If guests drink too much or seem too tired to drive home, call a cab, arrange a ride with a sober guest, or have them sleep at your home.
• Encourage all your guests to wear seatbelts as they drive home. Studies show that seatbelts save lives.

The article Proper Etiquette when Serving Alcohol appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

With the release of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) new 2010 drunk driving fatality data, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is pleased to announce that this decline in fatalities means that drunk driving deaths have now been cut by more than half since MADD’s founding 31 years ago.

New data from NHTSA shows that driving fatalities have dropped 4.9 percent from 10,759 in 2009 to 10,228 in 2010. The first-ever recording of drunk driving fatalities nationally was 21,113 in 1982.

“MADD is proud to see that the hard work of millions of Americans who’ve taken a stand against drunk driving have helped cut this deadly crime in half since our founding,” said MADD National President Jan Withers. “However, one life impacted by this terrible crime is one life too many as there are still more than 10,000 drunk driving fatalities and hundreds of thousands of injuries every year.”

Withers’ daughter, Alisa, was killed by an underage drinking driver in 1992, leading Withers to join the fight against drunk driving and underage drinking.

Today’s announcement of a significant reduction in drunk driving fatalities marks another victory in MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. Launched in 2006, after more than a decade of stagnant fatality data, the Campaign has seen a 24 percent decrease in drunk driving fatalities in its first four years.

“More than 3,200 fewer people were killed last year than in the previous four years,” said Withers. “That’s 3,200 families who did not receive that terrible, life-changing call or visit from law enforcement letting them know their loved one wasn’t coming home again.”

In its long history, MADD has worked tirelessly to cut the number of fatalities in half. MADD’s grassroots efforts have supported landmark legislation such as the national .08 blood alcohol concentration standard and the 21 minimum drinking age. MADD and its many supporters have changed the culture in this country, from one that accepted drunk driving as a fact of life to one that recognizes drunk driving as a 100 percent preventable crime.

In 2009, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s day, nearly 1,000 people were killed on America’s roadways. Unfortunately, millions of drivers still jeopardize their safety and the safety of others by driving under the influence.

That’s why during this holiday season, MADD continues to focus efforts on its Campaign to eliminate this primary threat to families on our roads, and support law enforcement as the nation prepares for a major crackdown on drunk driving.

remik44992 / Shutterstock.com

The article Glass Half-Full: MADD Halves Drunk-Driving Fatalities appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Newly released data that looks at the drinking patterns of more than 200,000 criminal offenders monitored 24/7 for alcohol consumption shows that even when Big Brother is watching, drinking increases nearly 27% between Thanksgiving and January 2nd.

Denver-based Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc., (AMS) has monitored more than 200,000 criminal offenders since 2003 using a technology that tests your perspiration every 30 minutes, 24/7, to ensure clients are abstaining from alcohol. According to AMS, the rate of daily violations for offenders monitored with their technology jumps a whopping 27% during the holiday season.

AMS Chairman and CEO Mike Iiams says that the trending highlights how the pressures — and the pleasures — of the holiday season are difficult for everyone. “Whether it’s your in-laws or the economy or just temptations at the office party, the fact that we see such a statistically significant increase in violations for a group of people who are being tested — and know they are being tested — every 30 minutes for drinking underscores just how difficult an issue this is,” says Iiams.

Larry Vanderwoude, LCDC, CEO of Dallas-based Recovery Healthcare, agrees. “Emotions run very high during the holiday season, especially when it comes to meeting family expectations. And the natural coping skill for the alcoholic is to drink,” says Vanderwoude. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that two to three times more people are killed by drunk drivers during the holidays than any other time during the year.

According to AMS, which has monitored offenders in 48 states with its SCRAMx System (for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor), as the company enters its 8th year providing monitoring during the holiday season, the courts seem to have two approaches for addressing the social and behavioral issues that go hand-in-hand with the holiday season.

“Some programs, usually dealing with lower risk offenders, may opt to give people a break during the holidays, lightening up on some requirements or delaying them until after the first of the year,” says Iiams. “But each year, the courts dealing with the highest risk alcohol offenders clamp down even harder on the drinking during the holidays,” he says.

“They know if these offenders aren’t drinking, then they’re not drinking and driving, and they’re not drinking and abusing a spouse or child,” he adds. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, 75% of cases of domestic violence involve an offender who was drunk at the time of the offense.

To Iiams, their data trending, which is based on more than 18 million alcohol tests, serves as a cautionary tale for both courts and communities. “These are the hardcore drinkers who know they’re going to get caught and that there will be consequences, and they’re still struggling not to drink during the holidays. Imagine what’s happening with the ones who know they can get away with it,” he says.

Vanderwoude, whose company has monitored more than 17,000 offenders in Texas and Oklahoma with the SCRAMx System, says that the intensive monitoring they provide during the holidays can actually provide a sense of security for both the courts and even many of their clients. “It’s a type of safety net, working to deter relapse during the hardest time of the year,” he says.

“The ones that drink get caught, and there can be a sense of relief in knowing that for people who really struggle with addiction. But the ones that stay sober through the season often report that it’s the most rewarding and cherished holiday of their life,” he adds.

The article Research Show Holiday Stress Increase Drinking by 27% appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.