And I know some folks will say, who cares if a drunk gets personally offended when you’re trying to keep them off the road. But I think the point is that making it about the “crazy laws” will enable the drunk to save face and for more of the drunk’s friends to help support you in keeping that person off the road. It also makes it easier to say something because you can deflect the anger away from you and onto “those crazy laws”.
@melvin123 - Thank you!! This is the first suggestion that I think might actually work and I will give it a try if it happens again.
Hopefully Uber is readily available. Especially for group functions it’s become more of a norm for everybody to just uber rather than drive themselves.
No to the suggestions of involving the management at the restaurant. It’s highly unlikely a manager is going to step in and “force” a customer to accept a ride home with another customer – especially if others in the party are voicing the opinion that the drinker will be fine.
You might think a manager will step in, with the liability issue, but really, it will be very far down on the list of actions the manager is likely to take. There might be that one white knight unicorn babysitter manager out there, somewhere, but I would not count on it.
Yes, to using humor, even about the “crazy laws”, and just pushing forward and insisting the drinker accept a ride. Firm and kind. We are driving you, and your car home. Easy! Let’s go.
I feel for you. I would have done what you did and worry about the next function.
H and I have a very good friend who was a functioning alcoholic who drank at home, he no longer is a functioning drinker. The last 4 years since a cancer diagnosis he has been drinking more and it takes less to get him drunk. I have a condition when he comes to our house for bbq or for sporting event tv viewing that he gives me his keys and he sleeps in our guest room or I won’t serve him. If we are going to a party I will drive him and again he can sleep at my house. If a group of guys are going out our friends wife will pick him up and drive him home. He also has Uber on his phone. He has even been known to take the bus. I think I’ve made him more aware but I can’t control what he does when he isn’t at events at my house.