In May 2015, two UC San Diego medical students were killed by a wrong-way driver on state Route 163. Prosecutors say the driver was drunk.
Friends of the students came to Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) with an idea: make responsible beverage service training mandatory for anyone who serves alcohol.
Gonzalez turned the idea into a bill. It's now been approved by both houses of the California Legislature.
Responsible beverage server training includes instruction on DUI laws, recognizing signs of intoxication, and how to intervene to prevent drunk patrons from driving.
Gonzalez believes making such training mandatory in California could make a difference.
"It’s a way to help train folks who are kind of that last resource; the last folks who are seeing so many people leave establishments, bars, restaurants, having drank too much, on how to have the tools to stop people from drinking and driving," she said.
A number of local governments have responsible beverage server training laws on the books. Gonzalez's measure would make such training mandatory in California beginning in 2020.
