If lives matter, bartenders need extreme vetting

It is legal for a bar to provide a parking lot for its customers. It is legal to drive in, park in the lot or on the street, enter the bar, have “too many” drinks, get behind the wheel and drive away. But once you’re on the road, you can be arrested for the crime of driving under the influence.

In our country, in simple figures, the number of people killed by drunk drivers every year is about 10,000. By contrast, since 9/11 the number of people killed every year on American soil by Islamic terrorists is about 10. Yet many Americans fear terrorist attacks more than they fear drunk drivers.

If the security of our nation – saving American lives – is really at stake, then anything our president can do to minimize drunk driving should be given high priority.

The Prohibition Era taught us that good intentions can backfire, so we must not again try to ban liquor. But here’s one simple, practical solution: Our president could issue an executive order that requires extreme vetting of all bartenders.

That should save at least 10 American lives per year.

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 12:03 PM with the headline "If lives matter, bartenders need extreme vetting."