The question of personal responsibility !

Once again the matter of alcohol and personal responsibility has been the subject of a High Court decision.

The High Court of Australia has struck down a Tasmanian Supreme Court finding that a publican had a duty of care to a patron who was drinking alcohol.

This man handed the keys to his motor bike to the publican while sober as a precaution against driving while drunk. Later, after consuming a considerable amount of alcohol which would have affected his mental state - he demanded the keys be returned. They were - and he attempted to drive home, crashed - and was killed !

From time to time in jurisdictions throughout the world various decisions and laws have been enacted to try and establish the ground rules of responsibility.

It is illegal to serve further alcohol to a person already under the influence in most cases, but that's where the definition of responsibility becomes blurred - and changes dramatically from country to country.

In this case the patron's intent seems clear. While sober he intended to drink alcohol to the point where he could become inebriated, and he sought to eliminate the chance that he might break the law by driving while under the influence. He handed the keys to the publican in trust with the understanding that they would not be returned until such time as he was not affected by alcohol.

The court decision absolves the publican of responsibility to act as some sort of referee. Had he refused to return those keys it is possible such a decision could have led to violence.

It also redirects responsibility back to the publican's client. He chose to drive a motor bike to a place where alcohol was served - with the intention of drinking alcohol.
Perhaps that responsibility rested with him to arrive by some other means of transport and leave the vehicle safely at home, where he would not be tempted to drive while in an intoxicated state.

Unfortunately this decision does nothing to establish clear rules about the shared responsibility of drinker's and their hosts. It remains a grey area - and it seems that in the future it will return again and again to the courts.

The only certainty is that alcohol and responsibility are not compatible !