Dram Shop Laws

Jaz has inspired (or guilted) me into getting back to my goal. She is training for a triathalon and is weighing less than she did before she had her baby (a month after I did) and I am still 10 pounds heavier than pre-prego. So, I got moving yesterday after reading her blog. I have been usually running one or two miles but yesterday made it to three! I want to run the race for the cure again this year and I need to get to the point where I can actually make it the whole way without stopping.
When I run I like to listen to radio shows on podcast. The show I listened to yesterday had me so angry. I think that is why I actually was able to make it the whole way (well, that, and the weather being not-so-hot). I was listening to NPR's Justice talking and they were talking about Driking and Driving and the laws associated with it. I enjoy NPR because I feel that they are very good at presenting the fact rather than just the sensational part of it like on TV.
Drinking and driving is a very very serious thing that I have always taken very seriously. and especially now that I am a mother!
But that isn't what made me angry, what got me all fired up are what is called 'Dram Shop Laws' these are the laws that make bars and bartenders liable for the actions of the patrons that they serve. There are parts of this law that are understandable and a little realistic, but the way it can be inforced is infuriating. It takes the individual responsibility away from the individual. The patrons of a bar are all ADULTS (and they are required to show identification to prove it!) and they should be accountable for their actions, not a waitress or bartender who is just doing their job. On the flip-side, I completely agree that a bartener or server has a responsibilty too, and that they should not over-serve. However, there are different stages of alcohol absorption in the body and different people show signs of intoxication at varing rates therefore making the job of determining wether or not someone is drunk completly up to speculation. And .08 is very very low. Someone can reach the legal limit of intoxication without seeing any signs. Judgemnet and reaction time (which make driving dangerous) are the first to go, WAY before speach and balance, so how is a bartender really supposed to be able to judge.
For instance, if a patron has been drinking all day at home and then comes into the bar walking just fine and not slurring or anything and has ONE then leaves and gets in an accident than the bartender AND the bar are liable. Financially AND criminally! When this person had no signs of being drunk how is the bartender expected to know that they have been kicking 'em back all day?
I hate that people don't take responsibility for themselves and their actions. I think we (as a society) are failing at this with laws like this one or the fact that a doctor who has made the choice to smoke for 30 years can sue the cigarette manufacturers and become a millionaire, or that gun makers are to blame for shootings are all just proof that the responsibility has shifted away from the individual.

ok, rant over.