Narragansett-URI Coalition

Common Ground’s Cooperating Tavern Program

Position Statements

Question: Should restaurant, bar, and tavern owners rent out function rooms to young adults for parties at which alcohol will be consumed, when some of those attending the event will be legally underage?

Any owner who is considering this option is taking a big risk by allowing underage students to attend parties or similar events where alcohol is present.

Our primary concern is whether responsible beverage service (RBS) practices can be faithfully executed. The amount of effort it requires to ensure that RBS practices are followed at mixed-age social events should not be underestimated.

Nationally, college and university officials have grappled with this problem for years. To give retailers an idea of what is involved to do the job right, we have outlined several best practices for off-campus student parties that might include underage students.

Question: Will a safe rides program encourage excessive drinking?

A safe rides program should be part of a comprehensive program that also includes responsible beverage service (RBS).

Narragansett’s bars and taverns practice RBS, which means:

not serving alcohol to customers under age 21, and
not serving alcohol to customers who are or might become intoxicated.

With RBS practices in place, no bar or tavern customer should be drinking excessively, whether there is a safe rides program or not.

Driving after drinking accounts for a very high percentage of alcohol-related deaths. Among college students, for example, public health experts have estimated that 80% of alcohol-related deaths involve driving after drinking.

Any amount of alcohol consumption increases risk. In Rhode Island, anyone of legal age who has a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher is considered legally impaired. But many other countries have set the limit at .05% or even lower (e.g., .02% in Sweden).

The bottom line: getting people not to drive after drinking has to be a top priority. A safe rides program, as part of a comprehensive prevention program, has an important role to play in preventing alcohol-related traffic crashes.

Question: Is enforcement of Rhode Island’s underage drinking and DUI laws stricter in Narragansett than in South Kingstown?

Rhode Island has enacted laws to provide for public safety, but if these laws are to work effectively, they must be firmly and consistently enforced.

We are pleased to say, therefore, that both the Narragansett and South Kingstown police departments are very dedicated to enforcing our state’s underage drinking and DUI laws.

People living in Narragansett remember that URI’s Common Ground awarded a law enforcement grant of $34,000 to the Narragansett Police Department.

But for many years, the South Kingstown Police Department has independently obtained state grants to enhance its enforcement efforts.

As a result, South Kingstown has seen the following:

increased compliance checks for licensed liquor vendors to ensure that servers ask for ID prior to serving alcohol
higher numbers of confiscated false IDs
greater numbers of DUI arrests

URI’s Common Ground is dedicated to creating a healthy and safe campus community, but we can’t do this alone. We look forward to working with both Narragansett and South Kingstown officials to achieve this important goal.

Question: What should be required of new restaurant, bar, and tavern owners in Narragansett before they are granted a liquor license?

This is a matter for Narragansett town officials to determine.

Our major concern is that new owners know and be committed to following the laws regarding responsible beverage service (RBS), including the new law requiring certified RBS training for all employees that takes effect in January 2006.

We look forward to the opportunity to introduce new owners to our Cooperating Tavern Program and invite them to join our partnership to promote responsible beverage service.

Please contact Paula Santos at pmsantos@uri.edu for more information.