Can Alcohol at the Movies Increase DUI Accidents?
Going to the movies has been a favorite choice for many people looking to have a night out or escape their day-to-day routine for a couple of hours. Movie theaters provide a calm and relaxing atmosphere to enjoy theater entertainment. When we walk into the theaters, the smell of buttery popcorn captivates us and lures us to the refreshment area. According to ABC30 News, The Sierra Vista Theater is appealing to adult age customers who like a nice cold beer or glass of wine while they watch movies by offering alcoholic beverages in addition to their standard non-alcoholic beverages. The added bonus of a reclining chair with your favorite wine or glass of beer creates a maximum movie night experience.
The alcohol sales at the Sierra Vista Theater are off to a solid start. Manager, Doug Her, anticipates alcohol sales to continue to grow. Beer, white wine, and red wine are available to customers. The Sierra Vista Theater staff regulates the appropriate age of drinking by monitoring which customers take an alcoholic drink into a theater when taking their tickets. Alcohol at the theater conveniently combines relaxing with a drink and watching a movie in one location. It prevents the customer from the need to go somewhere before or after a movie to drink.
Several other Valley theaters have followed suit by applying for alcohol permits. Forty percent of the boost in ticket sales are from the completed recliner seat project. Adding a bar is providing another option for customers who want to get out of the house, says Her. Customers can also get paninis and gourmet sausages at the newly added bar. Two years prior, the Galaxy Theater in Tulare pioneered the idea of alcohol at the theater.
DUI Accident Statistics
In 2015, the NHTSA reported that 10,265 people were killed in alcohol-impaired accidents in the United States. This was a 3.2 percent increase in alcohol-related traffic deaths from the prior year. California had the second highest rate of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities for 2015. The reported alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 29 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the United States during 2015.
People tend to enjoy going to a theater on the weekend and at night. The evening is one of the deadliest times of the day for drunk driving accidents. Alcohol-impaired driving is 3.5 times higher at night than during the day. Weekend alcohol-impaired driving accounts for 28% of fatal crashes.
It is not known if having bars in movie theaters will increase the number of DUI accidents. However, extreme measures should be in place to prevent the possible rise in alcohol-impaired driving due to movie-goers who have too much to drink during the show then drive. Alcohol at the movies provides a convenience, however, the more alcohol-impaired drivers you have on the road, the greater the risks for other motorists.
Fresno And Central California Valley DUI Accident Attorneys
For a free legal consultation and no-obligation case evaluation, contact the Fresno DUI Accident attorneys of Torem & Associates by telephone at (888) 500-5000or online by using the contact form on our website.
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