With the official start of summer less than a month away, the lighter, warmer evenings are upon us and we’re all feeling more inclined to venture out in the evenings.
Together with holidays like Memorial Day and July 4 not far away, the number of accidents caused by drunk and impaired drivers substantially increases.
There are many information campaigns, and in some areas more police officers, to help combat the issue but in one state a bar is helping to encourage safer roads with a very smart idea.
Most bars and restaurants don’t allow people to leave their vehicles parked overnight so if you drive to a bar and drink too much, you’re facing a dangerous dilemma.
But one bar in Nebraska is taking a different approach and allows cars in their parking lots overnight.
Not only that but The Union Bar, in Gering, even rewards those customers who leave their cars parked overnight with a letter and a special voucher.
Check out this creative idea to help keep people safe and stop them from drinking and driving. Union Bar and Grill in…
Posted by Omaha Police Department on Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Customer Janelle Martin posted on her Facebook page after her husband found a note left on his windshield when he decided to leave his truck parked overnight at the Nebraska bar.
‘Life is valuable’
She said her husband Martin had called her to come pick him up from the bar, instead of driving home. When he returned the next day, he found a note which thanked him for not drinking and driving.
“Bring this letter to the bar and we will give you a Hamburger and French Fries. Please accept this as a thank you for being responsible. Life is valuable,” the note read.
Owners of The Union, Scott and Carla Swanson, said giving away burgers was a small price to pay for a safer community.
“It’s a $7 burger, and if it keeps someone out of jail or keeps someone from killing someone, it’s d*** well worth it,” Scott Swanson told the World-Herald.
Other bars helping to fight drink driving
Swanson says that several cars are parked overnight on Friday and Saturday nights in their parking lot, so, clearly their plan is working.
The Union Bar isn’t the only bar and restaurant to help in the fight against drink driving. Other bars such as Mack’s Tavern in Ohio and Canadian bar Original Joe’s Restaurant & Bar, are also helping with rewards.
Watch the confession of a drunk driver in the viral video below and his plea for others to not do the same.
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeoIFWLbofk” /]
Such an ingenious idea and I hope more and more establishments follow suit.
Please share to highlight the importance of not drinking and driving this summer. Even if you do risk your car being towed, it’s a small price to pay for what could happen if you get behind the wheel of your car drunk.
