Drunk driving

Brickbat: You Don't Have To Go Home, but You Can't Stay Here

Charles Oliver | 3.12.2026 4:00 AM

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(Jamie Lorriman/MSN)

In England, the Ashford borough council ordered pub owner Paul Hartfield to stop offering customers rides home. Hartfield had been using a black cab to drive people home after they finished eating or drinking so they could get home safely and avoid drunk driving. He did not charge customers for the rides, but he encouraged them to make a small donation to the Motor Neurone Disease Association after one of his regular customers was diagnosed with the disease. The program helped more than 100 people get home safely and raised £700 ($939) for charity. However, the council said the service counted as a taxi operation and required a special license, so it ordered him to stop offering the rides.

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Charles Oliver is a contributing editor at Reason.

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