Utahns who host parties where intoxicated guests are served alcohol and then drive away in that condition should be held liable for damage or injuries those guests inflict on others.
Utah's dramshop law has been interpreted as holding liable only commercial establishments that serve alcohol to inebriated patrons who cause accidents after they leave.A case now before the Utah Supreme Court gives justices an opportunity to study the law and determine whether it applies to private individuals. Wording in the current law indicates "persons" who give liquor to others, not just business establishments that sell it, can be liable.
If the court rules the law applies only to commercial distributors of alcohol, legislators should consider changing the law. Private individuals should take responsibility for damage caused by their guests if they serve liquor to people and allow them to drive away under the influence of alcohol.
Under seizure laws, property owners have lost homes and cars used for illegal activities even when the owner wasn't aware of the activity. Certainly, when a host serves liquor and knows his guests are in no shape to drive, he should prevent that person from posing a danger to other drivers.
If a host is not willing to take that responsibility, he should not serve liquor in that quantity. If a guest becomes intoxicated, he should not be allowed behind the wheel of a car until he sobers up.
Misuse of alcohol helps to kill five times as many people as do illegal drugs. The best estimates hold alcohol accountable for 100,000 deaths a year. Drunken drivers kill far more people than does domestic violence or other types of homicide. It ranks third among preventable causes of death.
A party where a dozen people become intoxicated and then attempt to drive home unleashes an unacceptable threat to innocent people.
Responsible hosts should make sure intoxicated guests don't leave by themselves. It should be understood from the beginning that if you drink too much, you stay at the host's home or let someone who is not drunk do the driving.
Putting the responsibility on those who provide the alcohol - businesses or private individuals - could go a long way toward reducing accidents caused by drunks.