It is the start of a new year, and that means new laws will be going into effect. One such law is California State Assembly Bill 711. This new law will allow alcohol manufacturers and licensed sellers to provide customers with discounted or free transportation through a taxi or other ride sharing service.
The idea behind this new law is to try and reduce the amount of drunk driving accidents that can occur. This will provide people who have consumed alcohol a safe and convenient way to get home. With this new law, bars and alcohol manufacturers will be able to offer vouchers for free, or discounted rides through a local transport service. Examples of these services include taxis, Uber, and Lyft.
Before this law, alcohol manufacturers and providers were not allowed to provide their clients with any sort of reward or incentive to drink their product. Under this new law, these providers will be able to offer vouchers for free or discounted rides home, however, they cannot be offered in a way that forces customers to purchase their product.
California is not the first state to allow alcohol manufacturers to provide this kind of service. There are 44 other states that have enacted a similar law in an attempt to reduce the amount of drunk driving accidents that occur on their roads.