SC lawmakers considering ways to combat drunk driving

Columbia bartenders like 23-year-old Destiny Jones know cutting off intoxicated customers is nothing new. 

With two years in the industry, she recognizes the warning signs: slurred speech, stumbling, forgetfulness and aggressive behavior.

“As long as you’re working in this environment, you’re supposed to be aware of what’s going on,” Jones said. 

She also knows that sometimes refusing to serve someone does not go smoothly. A regular customer routinely gets loud and upset when Jones refuses to serve him but eventually calms down, she said.

“I stand firm when I realize someone is past their limit,” Jones said. “Even when customers get hostile.”

The South Carolina Senate recently passed legislation that mandates alcohol server training, designed to help bartenders recognize inebriated customers and prevent over-serving and the possible harm that could cause others.

The House, which ends its session May 8, hasn’t signed off on that or other pending alcohol-related bills, so it’s unclear if it will become law. 

Some establishments already require their servers to obtain an alcohol training certificate. Jones’ certification consisted of reading a book and taking a test, a process she compares to preparing for a driver’s license.

“You read the rules of the road, and you read the rules of serving,” she said.

Drunk driving is certainly of interest. Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages have faced more regulations recently in South Carolina. And South Carolina has seen a significant rise in alcohol-related fatalities.

Some bars and restaurants said they have closed due to the spike in liquor liability insurance rates. A 2017 bill required businesses that serve alcohol after 5 p.m. to have at least $1 million in liability insurance.

The new bill cuts the minimum insurance coverage requirement in half.

“If alcohol server training is mandated, then insurance rates should be lowered,” said Sen. Brian Adams, R-Berkeley. “We need to be equal across the board and affect everybody.” 

Lawmakers also are considering legislation designed to make it easier to prove when drivers are impaired.

It would allow public safety responders to collect blood samples from those suspected of driving under the influence. The current law only permits blood draws when an accident results in death or great bodily injury. 

The state had the highest alcohol-impaired driving fatality rate in the country in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in South Carolina increased 15 percent from 2021 to 2022.

The state also experienced an “explosion of breweries,” said Joseph Hampel, spokesperson for the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. “Pubs that brew their own became popular in the last 10 years, and you can see the increase in numbers.”

The number of breweries has more than doubled in the past five years, from 94 in 2019 to 178 in 2024.

Lawmakers are searching for solutions, regardless of the cause.

“The reality is we’ve got to stop people from thinking DUIs are just an easy charge to get off of,” Adams said. “Right now, they are. It’s very complicated to get a conviction for DUI.”