The Chapel Hill Police Department is working with the Campus and Community Coalition to identify bars and restaurants which serve intoxicated individuals contributing to the potential public safety threat of impaired driving.

In North Carolina, more than 400 people are killed each year in impaired driving crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nationally, this number totals more than 10,000 lives lost each year.

The Chapel Hill Police Department is working to change this. The Place of Last Drink pilot program will collect data on where those arrested consumed their last drink. Half of people arrested for impaired driving report having their last drink at a bar or other licensed alcohol establishment.

Almost every state prohibits the sale of alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person, but some alcohol establishments and staff choose to ignore that law.

“When we know where people were drinking before driving, we can work to educate those establishments on the laws surrounding overservice and the liability that exists when they overserve patrons,” Chapel Hill Police Captain Josh Mecimore said in a release. “Place of Last Drink complements our existing efforts to reduce excessive drinking and the harmful effects that result from it.”

The data collected will be used by law enforcement and the Campus and Community Coalition to track and monitor bars and other alcohol vendors which could pose a problem.

This program is part of a National Liquor Law Enforcement Association and National Transportation Safety Board recommendation for lawn enforcement to collect place of last drink data.

 

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