Time to End Drive-Through Alcohol?

Drive-through restaurants, drive-through banking, drive-through pharmacies... What's next, drive-through alcohol? Actually, it's been happening in Maryland—and a few other states—for years. But calls to ban the practice have followed a Texas drunk driving incident that killed one and paralyzed another. The driver had a .20 BAC—more than double the legal limit—some of which was due to a drive-through alcohol purchase. While some think combining the concepts of drive-through and booze is convenient, it might well send shivers down others' spines. “On the go” Maryland mom Betsy Matthews takes the former view: "If we want a snack or a soda, I don't have to stop at a store and get my son out," she says. "What's the difference between getting out of the car and going into a store and buying [alcohol] and then getting in and driving off?" Jigar Dave, the proprietor of Beer-n-Soda, which sells alcohol on a drive-through basis, thinks that resisting the urge to crack into a fresh one is on the driver. "The responsibility is on the citizen," he says. "Business is business. That's all I have to say and we make our living on the business." True to his word, he refuses The Fix any further comment. Seven Maryland counties currently ban drive-through alcohol sales. Over the past 15 years there have been three other attempts by safety advocates to ban the practice—all have failed.