Thanksgiving Eve is the Biggest Drinking Night of the Year, as well as one of the most dangerous times for fatal traffic accidents.
Illinois and Indiana, along with the rest of the country, are seeing a growing trend becoming a tradition where Thanksgiving celebrations begin the night before Thursday’s official feast day, in festivities promoted as “Black Wednesday,” “Blackout Wednesday,” or “Drinksgiving.”
The danger of impaired driving on our roads over the upcoming holiday’s Thanksgiving Eve is a serious one. This new holiday tradition increases the risk of a serious or fatal car crash caused by a drunk driver.
The Thanksgiving Eve Party: What is Black Wednesday or Drinksgiving?
According to Checkiday, the night before the traditional Thursday meal of Thanksgiving has become “…one of the biggest drinking and party nights of the year.” It is a trend promoted by establishments seeking to profit from young adults who are returning home for the holiday weekend.
Restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. invite these young people, many of them college students, to gather together and reconnect with friends they haven’t seen for a while. Drinking is encouraged.
The event is called by several names: Black Wednesday, Blackout Wednesday, Drinksgiving, Wacky Wednesday, as well as the traditional Thanksgiving Eve. This year, it will be observed on Wednesday, November 27, 2019.
It’s reported to be especially popular here in our part of the country.
Biggest Revenue Night of the Year for the Bar and Club Industry
Owners of bars and clubs serving alcoholic beverages to their customers are well aware of this growing trend or tradition; in fact, they are preparing now to maximize the revenue that the event will bring. Bars are encouraged to do things like “trade in your good beverageware for plastic,” to avoid the expense of broken glassware, for instance.
Thanksgiving Eve is recognized within the industry as the “biggest drinking night of the year” for bars and clubs. It’s a huge money-maker.
Industry analysts at BarandClubStats provide four reasons:
- Most people are off from work the next day;
- No one wants to entertain the night before hosting a big Thanksgiving meal;
- Everyone is home and wants to see old friends; and
- A big meal the next day is a good hangover cure.
Here in Illinois and Indiana, it’s important to recognize that Thanksgiving Eve may be the biggest money-making night of the year for your local bar or restaurant. It is the bar’s answer to the retail store’s Black Friday sales. Profits can fly in the face of keeping people safe.
While the establishments are warned to do things like promoting ride-sharing apps and monitoring the crowds for “patrons who are too intoxicated,” the reality is Thanksgiving Eve parties increase the likelihood of people drinking too much and then getting behind the wheel.
(Too intoxicated? For more on how buzzed driving can prove deadly, read: Drunk Driving Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Danger of a Fatal DUI Crash.)
Thanksgiving Holiday: Higher Number of Serious or Deadly Drunk Driving Accidents
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) warns that the Thanksgiving Holiday (running from Wednesday evening at six o’clock until Monday morning at 5:59 am) is one of the most dangerous times to be driving on American roadways. NHTSA statistics caution that hundreds will die in drunk-driving accidents over this long weekend holiday.
According to NHTSA, in 2017, more than one out of every three fatal motor vehicle accidents over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend involved a driver found to be driving impaired, under the influence of alcohol at the time of the fatal crash.
One reason for the greater risk of a fatal drunk driving accident over the Thanksgiving Holiday is the perfect storm created by the fact that more people will be under the influence of alcohol coupled with the huge increase in traffic on the roadways. Almost 90% of those traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend last year did so by driving a motor vehicle.
For more on drunk driving, read:
- Factors in Drunk Driving Fatal Car Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
- How Many Drunk Drivers Are There in Indiana and Illinois? The Danger of Drunk Driving Accidents Is High
- Drunk Driving Accident: Who’s Legally Liable? Answer is Different for Indiana and Illinois
Bar and Club Liability in Drunk Driving Accidents
Given that business establishments are being credited with turning a college fad into a national tradition, enabling bars and clubs to generate huge profits over Thanksgiving Eve, can these bars or clubs be held liable in the event of a fatal drunk driving accident? Maybe.
Indiana and Illinois both have “dram shop laws,” which are specific laws passed by state lawmakers to define the legal liability of those who sell alcoholic beverages to patrons who are then involved in a drunk driving accident. They are very different in approach and application.
Indiana’s dram shop law is found at Indiana Code section 7.1-5-10-15.5.
Illinois’ dram show law is located at 235 ILCS 5/6-21 (Section 6-21 of the Liquor Control Act of 1934, called the Dramshop Act).
For more on dram shop liability, read our earlier discussion: Liable for Drunk Driving Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Social Party Hosts, Bars, Restaurants.
Legal Claims for Justice after a Fatal Drunk Driving Accident Involving Promoted Drinking
Clearly, those who seek to benefit from selling alcoholic beverages in excess to young adults in a festive atmosphere should bear responsibility for their actions. Businesses promoting Drinksgiving or Blackout Wednesday understand the impact that drinking can have on someone’s ability to function. Allowing a person to buy their drinks and thereafter operate a motor vehicle should come with a corresponding responsibility for the consequences.
This is the purpose of our state dram shop laws. They exist to provide justice not only for the drunk driver’s loved ones and his or her passengers, but also for any innocent third parties who have been injured or killed as a result of the drunk-driving crash.
However, these can be complicated cases. Indiana and Illinois have different laws, with different requirements. Another complexity may be the different kinds of injury claims for the driver and the occupants of the drunk driver’s vehicle than for other crash victims (other vehicles, pedestrians, etc.). Also, for a drunk driver who bar-hopped on Thanksgiving Eve, there is the possibility that more than one establishment may have legal liability.
If you or a loved one is the victim of an Illinois or Indiana Thanksgiving Eve crash where drinking may have played a factor, then it is vital to investigate the legal ramifications of the incident. Sadly, businesses in Indiana and Illinois seeking to maximize profits will put their patrons (and others) at risk of dying in a fatal drunk driving accident. Please be careful out there!
