I know I often refer to things happening in Philly but honestly, a lot of our suburbs take their cues from the City of Brotherly Love. Some of the ideas are good ones and some, well, aren’t so good.
The latest one is one of the dumbest I’ve heard in a long, long time.
Apparently there is a move in the city to allow bars to close after 2 a.m., more than likely 3 a.m.
The following is courtesy of AAA:
“Today, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown introduced a bill which would allow bars in the city to sell liquor until 3 a.m., extending the current nightly deadline, which is 2 a.m.
“AAA Mid-Atlantic says the bill is not a good idea as it has the potential to increase drunk driving. An additional hour of liquor sales will mean that bar patrons could be hitting the road with a higher blood alcohol content. Also, if bars in Philadelphia are open to 3 a.m., while those in the surrounding suburbs are only open until 2 a.m., it may encourage people to drive from bar to bar, also increasing the potential for drunk driving and alcohol related crashes.
“Drunk driving is a very serious concern nationally, in Pennsylvania, and in Philadelphia.
“Here are some important facts:
“There were 93 highway fatalities in Philadelphia in 2010 (most recent year that figures are available); of these, 25 of the deaths (27%), were alcohol-related.
“Statewide in Pennsylvania, there were 459 alcohol-related fatalities in 2010, an increase from the previous year.
“On average each day in Pennsylvania, there are 34 alcohol-related traffic crashes, killing 1.3 persons on average, and injuring 26 people.
“91% of the alcohol-related occupant deaths (drivers and passengers) were in the vehicle driven by the drinking driver; 75% were the drinking drivers themselves.
“72% of the drinking drivers in traffic crashes were male.
“Although alcohol-related crashes accounted for approximately 10% of the total crashes in 2010 in PA, they resulted in 35% of all persons killed in crashes. Alcohol-related crashes were 4.5 times more likely to result in death than those not related to alcohol.”
(source: PennDOT)
We have heard the arguments on both sides. The council argument will be that it’s a way to generate revenue. OK, so we have introduced new casinos, now we’re going to allow the bars to stay open even later?
Of course, there’s the theory that if allow the bars to close later, the 2 a.m. witching hour won’t be the case anymore.
I’m not buying any of this. Having bars stay open later is a bad, bad idea. Those who want to keep the party going will keep on going to their favorite after-hours club. Let’s not give the amateurs any more fuel.
— Andy Hachadorian
From the editor's chair 
This is stupid I think it’s a great idea to have the bars open later! The drunk driving argument is asinine. If your drinking at 2 am one more hour is not going to put you over the edge because you’ve probably been drunk for a few hours. That is beside the fact that in West Chester the bars are most likely within walking distance. If your too stupid to call a cab that’s your problem.
i did comment about this somewhere..i was a bartender 30 plus years and if the bar staff does their job this shouldn’t make a difference..if they have had enough at 2am you CUT THEM OFF…some people may be just getting off work or coming out late so it makes sense if they come in at 1am they don’t have to hear last call in the middle of their first drink..i was a strict bartender so if they had enough be it 6pm 10pm or whenever they were done..bye bye ..no more and they are the ones with a flask in their pocket or a stash in the trunk and bars can’t do anything about that but if they practice responsible bartending this will not be a problem..sad to say many bartenders will pour for a corpse if there is a tip attached but then thats when the bar owners crack down on the help