With St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, now is a great time to discuss issues that may occur if you will be allowing passengers to drink in your livery vehicle. It is no secret that this weekend will be filled with drinking and celebrations. If you will be transporting people to and from bars, it is important to know what your responsibilities are.

At Wolpert Insurance, we are here to provide your company with the proper livery insurance. However, we are also here to keep you safe from the possible lawsuit that could arise from a simple mistake. Sadly, a simple mistake is what happened back in 2008 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court ruled that a limousine driver had the responsibility to prevent their passengers from drinking and driving.

The driver picked up several men at a bar in South Boston after a night of drinking at a bachelor party. The limo driver then drove them to a strip club in Rhode Island and even stopped to purchase more alcohol for the passengers, allowing them to drink in the limo. As the night came to an end, the driver dropped one man off at his car back in South Boston, knowing that he would be driving home while intoxicated. The consequence? One man was killed and several others were injured.

The victims of the crash attempted to sue the limo service for wrongful death and personal injuries because the driver should have simply known that the man would attempt to drive home drunk. While the trial court dismissed the case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court picked it back up and claimed that the limo driver had the responsibility to use reasonable care to avoid discharging its drunken passenger.

The bottom line: as a livery driver and operator, it is your full responsibility to make sure your passengers who have been drinking do not drive home drunk after being dropped off. Private carriers are required to exercise “reasonable care” to make sure that none of its intoxicated passengers are going to attempt to drive once the night comes to an end.

It is also your responsibility to be covered with livery insurance. At Wolpert Insurance, we offer comprehensive limo and livery insurance solutions for your unique business. Contact us for a free quote!