Toxicity and liability 2005 law update

[The Yosemite Bear]

ok this is directly inspired by a thread now occupying space in parting shots. there's been some new court cases in the last year or so, making Dram and public negligence laws more of a concern to the barman since I took and aced the full serve safe(tm) course in may of 2001.

note:
a liver still can only filter less then an ounce/28 grams of pure alcohol in one hour, nothing changes that. no matter your tolerance or what you've had to eat, it is illegal for a barman to let someone opperate a motor vehicle without making a reasonable effort up to an including notifying authorities to arrest the person giving liscence and make of vehicles if that person has consumed 2 or more drinks within an hours span or is showing any signs of visible toxicity. (this was changed as a result of a drunken baseball fan at a stadium game, and a seperate case in millbrook wisconsin both cases resulted in fatalities, both barservers lost their jobs and had all future earnings garnished)

Intoxication Rate factors: these effect how quickly a person shows the effects of toxcity, this is not a measure of soberity, as anything over a BAC of .5 will impar your ability to operate a vehicle enough that the Dram perveior is negligent in allowing you to drive. (note while the legal arrest limit is .08 the barman can be held responsible for as low as .05)

Dillution: the effects of toxicity is mitigated by the presence of water, vitamines or food in the stomache, fatty foods, pure water and sugary foods reduce the effects of toxicity the most. Carbination and caffine actually damage the body/increase the effects of toxcity.

Gender: Women experience the effects of toxicy quicker then men

body fat index/diabeties: The higher the body fat the slower your body can burn alcohol, as the liver will be busy dealing with glucose as well. (means that the body will take longer then an hour to process an ounce of pure alcohol if you are overweight or diabetic.)

carbonation: carbondioxide causes the body to feel the effects of toxicity faster, drinks with club soda, or soft drinks will effect you faster then a drink straight up or dilluted with water.

Dram liability Drug interactions:
asprin: will cause internal bleeding if taken with alcohol
caffine: will cause pulminary diffculty, and inclreased cardio activity (may result in cessation of breathing). Caffine and alcohol will result in a much greater danger to other motorists then alcohol alone.
cold medications: will depress the pulminary muscles and make a person more drowsy. Cold medications and alcohol will present a greater danger of a drunk driver then alcohol alone.
Diabetic medication: see comments about cold medication and caffine above
Canibas/nicotine: greatly increase the effects of toxicity, do not drive if you have been smoking while drinking, even one and one.


discrimination laws
It is illegal to refuse service to a pregnant woman. Medical recomendations now state that 1 drink/day poses no threat of faetal alcohol syndrom.
It is illegal to confiscate someone's keys/driver's liscence without permission.
The dram provider can confiscate drinks especially if they observe the guest altering them.

Alcohol service logs
in order to prevent law suits dram providers are required to maintain serice logs of every questionable serivce, and every attempt by an underaged individual to obtain alcohol.

Dram providers are responisble for preventing any underaged consumption on their property reguardless of the purchaser including parking lots and public sidewalks withing 75 feet/25 meters of the builings.

[The Yosemite Bear]

ohh, forgot to mention:

Tolerance: a person who drinks more often will not show the physical effects of alcohol toxitcy as readily as a more infrequent drinker. this does not reduce the mental effects of alcohol toxicity (lack of inhibitions, judgement) or the actual ability to process alcohol, it just makes the dram provider's job harder. An intoxicated individual with a high tolerance is no more safe walking or driving a vehicle then an intolerant person. they are more dangerous to the dram provider's liability as they will not show many of the warning signs until too late.