[USA-Ohio] Liability for drunk drivers leaving a party my husband and I are hosting? : legaladvice

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Throwaway for this one obviously. Location is Ohio, USA

My husband and I are celebrating our marriage with a big party at his dads house (we didn’t have a wedding). We are grilling stuff and providing drinks, but not like a bartender. Just a “help yourself” cooler.

A large portion of husbands extended family are chronic drunk drivers. Every event I have ever been to involving his family- some of his cousins, uncles, aunts, family friends, have left and driven away drunk. It’s such a casual and normal thing to them. It’s horrifying. I’ve offered to call people Ubers and been shut down. Its tricky because not only do I barely know these people but they aren’t falling down drunk. If they were I would feel confident in forcefully taking away keys and telling anyone who argued to fuck off. But it’s hard when they seem totally fine and you start to question yourself because you KNOW they just did 2 double tequila shots not 2 minutes ago.

I am wondering what our LEGAL liability is if some moron leaves drunk and gets in an accident. I can guarantee right now 100% that 5+ people will leave the party and get behind the wheel drunk.

I was thinking about calling the non-emergency line of the local police station ahead of time and alerting them about the party and advising them to have more cars out or set up a checkpoint because I know some people will leave drunk in spite of us offering free Ubers or whatever. Is that something people do? And in that case my concern is, would that make me seem MORE liable if someone did get in an accident, because it shows that I thought about this and knew it was a possibility?

I’d rather have his family bitterly remember the party as “that night we all got DUIs” than “that night Uncle Johnny was drunk and killed that family of 4”

HappyDaysMyDays on October 11st, 2018 at 12:58 UTC »

You could hire an off duty police officer to direct parking and be “security”. They will wear their uniform for it. That would help manage the safety and liability. You could make the officer aware of your concerns and he can assist by watching out for drunken potential drivers and politely offering a breathalyzer to make sure they were OK to drive, etc without being harassing, etc. Usually, the presence alone will make people act differently.

bookluvr83 on October 11st, 2018 at 12:22 UTC »

I hate drunk drivers with a passion. They put other people in danger, not just themselves. My uncle was driving drunk and got into a high speed police chase. He rolled his van, shattered every bone in his neck except one and became a dual quadriplegic. He had a stroke as a result of his injuries and suffocated as a result of the stroke. He died alone, miserable and in pain because he got behind the wheel drunk. I'm just grateful the only person injured by his stupidity was him.

LocationBot on October 11st, 2018 at 11:28 UTC »

Title: [USA-Ohio] Liability for drunk drivers leaving a party my husband and I are hosting?

Original Post:

Throwaway for this one obviously.

My fiancé and I are eloping just the two of us in a few weeks. We live by my family, and I have a small fam and friend group anyway, so are just having a dinner with them to celebrate right after. Fiancé has a huge family and they live one state over. So the following week we are having a party at his dads house to host his family and friends as an informal reception. We are grilling stuff and providing drinks.

His extended family are chronic drunk drivers. Every event I have ever been to involving his family- some of his cousins, uncles, aunts, family friends, have left and driven away drunk. It’s such a casual and normal thing to them. It’s horrifying. My fiancé didn’t even realize how not normal it was until we started dating 4 years ago. He said it’s super normalized in his family, his mom would even drink a beer while driving him to sports games on weekends when he was a kid. Tbh it’s one of the reasons I didn’t want a joint reception between our families and friends. They aren’t like falling over drunk, but I’ve seen them down 10 beers and a shot of tequila, so it’s a tricky spot. I’ve offered to call people Ubers and been shut down. I barely know these people.

His friends aren’t like that fortunately, they use ride share services and carpool etc. this party is mostly to celebrate with them and his immediate family but their dynamic is such that the extended fam WILL show up.

I am wondering what our LEGAL liability is if some moron member of his family leaves drunk and gets in an accident. I can guarantee right now 100% that at least 3 people will leave the party and get behind the wheel drunk.

I was thinking about calling the non-emergency line of the local police station ahead of time and alerting them about the party and advising them to have more cars out or set up a checkpoint because I know some people will leave drunk in spite of us offering free Ubers or whatever. Is that something people do? And in that case my concern is, would that make me seem MORE liable if someone did get in an accident, because it shows that I thought about this and knew it was a possibility?

Thanks

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