In the past five years or so there has been big internal debate on the limiting of free alcohol at events. Organizers have been able to slow these freebies and I think this tragedy will finally put a huge damper on free alcohol. You still have places like Hype Hotel which gives you unlimited drinks. I was there on Tuesday and about 60% of the crowd was visibly hammered after 12AM. Other than that the venue and bands at Hype are great, but I don't think they should be providing unlimited alcohol to any attendee. Not saying this drunky was at a music venue which gave him free alcohol but the general trend I've been seeing over the past 5 years is more and more drunken people staggering the streets every night.
I feel like they should get rid of free alcohol, but than again I think they should get rid of alcohol altogether... It brings out the worst in people and it kills someone everyday. they should hand out free pot next year and see how much better it would be :grin:
Damn that sucks. RIP to the ones that lost their lives. They should think about having metal barricades under the street for the night on some of these streets that are closed off.
Which is quite often. That's a good idea. I actually have a friend in the department that would handle such things. I'm going to ask him that.
regardless, I believe everyone with a license to serve alcohol is legally required to stop serving to visibly intoxicated people. this is why I stopped listening to music without Christian influence years ago as it encourages inebriation, promiscuity and getting knocked out of your mind as a way to connect and sell records instead of true artist emotions. it's a shame...... but I think more resposibility has to be given to patrons serving instead of getting everyone to a point where they are barely functioning. +
Terrible evening for those killed and injured, the city and the festival. I agree with the point about free alcohol; it's a major reason SXSW events are so impossible to attend and manage. While I am not in favor of restricting "unofficial" showcases (I worked for years at UT's student radio station and this was the only way we could participate in SXSW and attempt to leverage the influx of bands and publicity), the festival's size now is unmanageable. Those of us who remain in Austin after SXSW should push our officials even harder now for infrastructure and public transportation improvements. Too much of this city's raison d'être is based on entertainment and alcohol for there to be so few options for getting home. Yes, it's easy to say "Take a cab," but tell that to an unreasonable drunk when they've been trying to get one past 3 a.m. downtown. The lack of late night bus options, small number of cabs (with their own set of headaches) and total lack of rail inhibits safety. The city currently does not discourage drunk driving in any way other than handing out DUIs. Mayor Leffingwell hosted an AMA on Reddit yesterday. Had it been scheduled for today, I imagine he would've canceled. However, note the cop-out answers he provides to some questions (Taco Shack preference notwithstanding), especially in regards to Capital Metro: "We collaborate through inter-local agreements but we have no direct authority over Capital Metro. They are a sovereign body. They have their own board of directors and their own revenue source, so the City's focus is on collaborative efforts with them." An unelected, autonomous board is the excuse why bus routes, late night options and more are so bad. This is not the accountability we should settle for with out elected officials. I'll be praying for the families of the dead and those injured last night. If there's one state that will not hesitate to serve swift justice to this moron, it's Texas. Unfortunately, if there's one city incapable of learning from this experience, it's probably Austin.
Never been to SXSW, but really free alcohol? This ain't no damn casino, smh. Have a limit, charge them for it or something.
I think it's ridiculous that SXSW is the only time the train runs late at night. It should be every night...at least Tuesday - Saturday. I'd probably go in more if I had that option as I live 10 minutes from the Howard station. Even better, let Uber in to the city. Give people more options to get home safely.
Was the APD actually chasing this guy through the streets of Austin with the festival going on? Or, were they not on his tail at this point? I assume the cops were chasing him. I'm not so sure that was a good idea. Shouldn't the chase have been called off at the point it went from I-35 into the streets knowing the festival was going on? A drunk driver is not going to stop for no barrel barriers when he is running from the police or even care where he drives to escape the police. It's possible he could have gone on to kill someone if not stopped but the implications of a high speed chase through city streets with the festival going on...it could have been much worse as far as the death count. I thought police had newer policies that dictated when a chase should not ensue. Does this not qualify (assuming they were chasing him)? A drunk driver is dangerous no doubt. But, a riled up drunk driver running from the law is much more dangerous. That said...I don't know all the facts. But, it sounded like a chase on city streets that went into the festival streets.
What train? Haven't lived in that city since 1998. Terrible tragedy. I fear there will be a sixth degree of separation to someone on this board...
I don't know, but I'm going to assume, but I don't know, but I'm going to assume, but I don't know, but I'm going to assume.
They provide details for stuff like that, surfguy, for when you don't know stuff. It was a driver going the wrong way on a one way street. They tried to stop him. He sped off into a crowd. Was not high speed chase from freeways
This is what happens when you build light rail on existing, operational commercial tracks. The city's light rail can't run longer hours without disrupting the commercial rail loads. In the same vein of MoPac's "new and improved" one whole lane, the first stage of Austin MetroRail was a band-aid solution to a gashing wound problem.
I don't know, but I'm going to assume he didn't actually read any other articles that state the car was stopped in the area and then sped off.
Alright...sorry I even said anything. That's why I asked the leading questions. I heard tidbits from CNN Headline News but there was another chase here in North Texas and I may have confused that chase news with what happened here as I was getting ready for work and not planted in front of the TV.
