New Year's Eve Party Tips—Protect Yourself & Guests

Hosting a holiday party this month? You could be fined or even go to prison, if you aren’t careful.

Sound ridiculous? Maybe. But what most people in Dubois—or even Forest Hills and Regent Square—don’t know is that being a “social host” could cost you your freedom or a minimum of $2,500. 

According to Pennsylvania law, a “social host” is one who hosts a holiday party at home and serves alcohol. If a social host serves alcohol to a minor and the individual then leaves the party intoxicated, ending up in a car accident, you, as the social host, can be liable for the minor’s injuries and if the individual injures someone else.

“Many people in Dubois (and other places) don’t know that like restaurants and bars, holiday social hosts have responsibilities when it comes to serving alcohol,” said Squirrel Hill’s Attorney Edgar Snyder, who has helped victims of drunk driving accidents for over 40 years. “The social host law makes you responsible for the actions of your intoxicated guests after they leave your party.”

Snyder added that in order for an adult social host to be held liable, the party host has to “knowingly furnish” the alcohol to a minor.

“While social hosts are liable for serving alcohol to underage guests, adult party-goers are responsible for their own actions,” said Attorney Snyder. “Hosts have a moral obligation to ensure their guests don’t drink and drive after the party.”

This past summer, a Westmoreland County mother was accused of providing alcohol to three teenagers at her son’s graduation party prior to a crash that killed them.

“When you host, you may lose the most,” said Snyder. “This tragedy is an unfortunate example of what can happen when you aren’t a responsible ‘social host.’”

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), research shows that social host liability laws are effective. The organization says that the Center for Disease Control ‘s annual Behavior Risk Factor Surveys illustrate that states with social host laws are “significantly less likely” to have individuals who drink heavily and drive, than in states without the laws. 

Holiday social hosts face two kinds of potential liability: criminal and civil. In criminal cases, the host could face fines or jail time. “The seriousness of the charges will depend on the seriousness of injuries sustained in a car accident,” adds Attorney Snyder.

“In a civil case, if your holiday guest is over served alcohol and the minor is injured in a car accident, the guest can sue the party host,” adds Snyder. “This is particularly true if the party host was reckless when serving the drunk driver.” A host is reckless, he said, if the person does not exercise common sense when serving someone who is visibly intoxicated.

What can holiday social hosts do this holiday season to keep everyone safe? MADD offers the following top 10 tips:

• Hire a shuttle or limousine service to provide transportation for those who have been drinking. Promote the designated driver concept in party invitations.
• Plan activities like party games, door prize drawings or amateur fortune-telling. Planned activities engage people, make for less active consumption of alcohol and ensure that your friends remember the great event long after the last piece of confetti has settled.
• As guests RSVP, confirm that at least one person in each group is prepared to be the non-drinking designated driver.
• Offer non-alcoholic beverages or “mocktails” for designated drivers and others who prefer not to drink alcohol.
• Limit your guest list to people you know well and those who act and drink responsibly.
• Greet each guest personally: take coats and keys as each enters your house. Then provide the coats and keys when guests leave. This will help the host assess each situation personally. The key here is to stay sober so that you can evaluate your guests without inebriation.
• Reward designated drivers with fun gifts, gift certificates, etc.
• Provide plenty of foods high in protein and starch to help slow down the digestive process.
• Set up a coffee/beverage station featuring non-alcoholic syrups.
• Hire a bartender instead of having guests serve themselves. Bar tenders are trained in recognizing signs of intoxication and can refuse alcohol more easily than you who may be worried about offending your guests.

Attorney Snyder adds these five tips:

• Stop serving alcohol after a couple of hours and serve non-alcoholic beverages instead.
• Stop serving anyone who has had too much to drink. Cutting off an intoxicated guest will be strong evidence that the host was not reckless in encouraging the guest to drink more.
• Insist a guest sleep at your home, if he/she appears intoxicated. 
• Keep cab company phone numbers by the telephone in case there is a guest who should not drive.
• Consider hosting a party at a bar or restaurant. This will place responsibility on trained servers rather than you.