Impressive!

I was driving home yesterday, listening to the radio when regular programming was pre-empted for coverage of the plane crash in NY. That was so amazing that the pilot managed to fly the plane like a glider and land it safely on the Hudson River. Fate fell in favour of those passengers as the plane even came to rest right near the ferry docks.

The last report I read said that one woman sufferred broken legs and nobody perished. Those passengers are going to have an amazing story to tell their families and friends when they finally get home. I wonder if some of them will take the bus?

Who's Responsible?

Dozens of liquor licence charges laid against a Muskoka club and its staff following a crash that killed three young men are prompting the industry to look closer at its obligations when it comes to serving alcohol.

The group of four were apparently served 31 drinks in a few hours. One thing about a bar in cottage country...you can bet that most of the patrons got there by car, and somebody is driving those cars. We all know drinking and driving is criminal and dangerous and we shouldn't do it. Are the bartenders and servers partially responsible for the crash? What about the directors of the company, some of whom may never have been in the bar? If the bar is a corporation run by a board of directors, are they any less responsible than if it was owned by a local guy who lived down the road and knew the patrons?

This is a tough issue. Where should a bartender draw the line? Should that line be different if the bartender knows for certain the patron isn't driving? I bet you could go to many bars in this city at any time and see people being served who are showing the effects of alcohol. Some people show those effects more obviously than others. In a busy place, is it reasonable for servers to monitor the consumption of their customers.

Those of you who have worked as bartenders or wait staff, please weigh in here. Does responsibility fall completely on the drinkers or should the bar staff and owners share in it?