NBC29Social Host Liability for Drunk Drivers

Social Host Liability for Drunk Drivers

With so many people planning to welcome in the New Year with a drink or two--or three--there's a question about your legal liability if people are drinking at your residence and then leaving.

After a party, if your guests grab their keys and go, you're in the clear. It may sound strange, but in Virginia, it's up to the driver to be responsible. According to Virginia law it's doesn't matter who served the alcohol.

When it comes to liability in civil court, the responsibility belongs to the person doing the drinking. So once someone hits the road, what they do in the car can't be blamed on their host. But attorney's warn, even though it's legal, letting drunk drivers leave your home could come back to bite you.

“While there is no liability today for serving as social host, I don't want to be the first case to go up where liability would be imposed, said area attorney Matt Murray.

Murray says the current trend with the law is to hold more people accountable for behaviors that went unpunished in the past. That list could include supplying a drunk driver.

He says people often don’t know when they hit the legal limit. As a tip, he suggests counting the number of drinks you have or serve to stay in the clear.

Reported by Joanna Shrewsbury
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