A bill from the US state of Tennessee wants to ban the sale of cold beer in the state. The proposal, which has already been approved by the state Senate, aims to reduce the number of traffic accidents.
In the area, drivers often stop at convenience stores, buy beer and drink behind the wheel. According to local authorities, one out of every three fatal traffic accidents in the state is related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages on board.
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Introduced on January 31 by Sen. Raul Boz and Rep. Ron Gantt, both Republicans, the bill prohibits a “licensee from selling refrigerated or cold beer at retail.” The project was approved in two votes in the state Senate and was referred to a committee that should have the final say.
Rep. Gantt said the new law will act as a deterrent to those who want to drink while driving.
“We see evidence in many accidents where alcohol is found in the car and in cans and beer bottles. We see it on the sides of the roads on a lot of our roads; all across the state and in every county, you see “A lot of bottled beer and cans littering our highways.”
Cold equals gold
Andy Ashby, co-owner of local brewery Memphis Made Brewing, expressed concern about the effects of the new law, which could impact his company's sales.
“There's an old saying in beer sales: Cold, it's worth its weight in gold,” the enterprising brewer told Wreg Memphis.
“It's going to have a huge, huge impact. Packages represent about 40 to 50 percent of our sales, and 90 percent of that is ice cream.”
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