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interesting info.......
Alcoholic Beverage Laws in Texas
Although National Prohibition of alcohol ended more than 70 years ago, over 50 counties in Texas are considered “dry” by law. But that’s only the beginning of the patchwork of the state’s confusing alcohol laws.
“In some counties, only 4 percent beer is legal. In others, beverages that are 14 percent or less alcohol are legal. In some ‘dry’ areas, you can get a mixed drink by paying to join a ‘private club,’ and in some ‘wet’ areas you still need a club membership to get liquor-by-the-drink,” reports the Star-Telegram.
The newspaper demonstrates how confusing the alcohol laws can be. “Move from Fort Worth to Arlington and you’ll be surprised that you can buy beer but not wine at the grocery store. Move to Grand Prairie and you can’t even find beer there, but you can buy alcoholic drinks at restaurants in both towns. Then move to Burelson, which has alcohol sales in the Tarrant County portion of the city but not in the Johnson County side of town.”
Unfortunately, areas with strong anti-alcohol laws tend to have higher rates of alcohol-related problems, such as drunken driving.
References:
* Labbe, J.R. You may need a drink to understand our liquor laws. Star-Telegram, 5-16-04;
* Hanson, David J. Preventing Alcohol Abuse. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995, chapter 3.
Dry Counties Have Many More Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities than Wet Counties
Over the past five years, completely dry counties in Texas had over three and one-half times the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities per capita than completely wet counties. Dry counties averaged 6.8 alcohol-related traffic deaths per 10,000 people, whereas wet counties had 1.9 deaths per 10,000 people. This, according to data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
This is consistent with earlier research elsewhere. For example, a study of about 39,000 alcohol-related traffic accidents in wet compared to dry counties in Kentucky found that a higher proportion of dry counties' residents are involved in such crashes.
It appears that residents of dry counties have to drive farther from their homes to consume alcohol, thus increasing impaired driving exposure.
Reference:
* Alam, Hina. Statistics show alcohol-related deaths don’t play favorites with wet/dry issue. Lufkin Daily News, October 29, 2006.
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