Nashville City Council Considering Bill To Ban Alcohol On Party Buses

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The woo-girls aren’t gonna like this one…

Party buses have been a hot topic in Nashville lately as the city tries to figure out what, if anything, to do about the growing transportainment industry.

The endless string of party buses, tractors, hot tubs, jacked up trucks, fire trucks – pretty much any kind of vehicle that will move – have pretty much taken over downtown Nashville lately, shuttling groups of drunken tourists around the city as they drink their asses off and scream along to Shania Twain.

But a proposal currently being considered by the Metro Nashville City Council looks to put an end to that.

Well, at least the drinking. Shania will always be welcome and encouraged here.

The bill, introduced by Metro councilman Sean Parker, would ban passengers of any motor vehicle – including party buses – from possessing an open container or drinking alcohol while the vehicle is in operation.

(If you didn’t know, Tennessee is one of the few states that allow passengers to drink alcohol. It’s one of the simple pleasures of living here, having a passenger roadie while someone else is driving).

The new regulations wouldn’t apply to pedal taverns or pedicabs since they’re not considered “motor vehicles.”

The proposal comes at a time when the transportainment industry is taking a lot of heat, especially in the wake of an incident which resulted in a Michigan man being hospitalized after falling off a party bus and being run over.

And a video recently went viral showing a man stumbling off a pedal tavern and falling into the side of an oncoming car, though it was later revealed that the man wasn’t a part of the group on the pedal tavern but was just a random drunk guy who decided to hop on at the end of a trip.

Party buses and other similar vehicles generally operate as BYOB, so they don’t actually “serve”  alcohol or need any kind of liquor permit. Councilman Parker says that the buses would still be able to operate under the new rules – their passengers just wouldn’t be able to drink on the vehicle.

The bill proposes a $50 fine for anyone caught violating the ordinance, which passed its first reading at last night’s city council meeting.

Before becoming city ordinance, the bill still has to go through two more readings, including a public hearing – so we’re still a little ways off from this becoming reality.

But head’s up to everybody planning a bachelor or bachelorette party in Nashville: If this passes, you might have to do your drinking the old fashioned way – in a bar.

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