Motor-Very-Cross

Anti-Drunk-Driving Groups Aren’t Too Happy About England’s Rest-Stop Pub

Pit-stop.
Pit-stop. Photo: iStockphoto

England’s first motorway pub, the Hope and Champion, opens tomorrow in a service area off the M40 highway, much to the disapproval of public-health groups and road-safety charities, who claim a roadside bar will no doubt increase the likelihood of drunk driving. Wetherspoon’s, the chain that owns the pub, recognizes that serving alcohol in a service station is an “unusual offer,” as a company spokesperson puts it, but the chain has vowed to display “Drink Drive Awareness” logos on all menus, and anyhow, the spokesperson reminds everyone, “We do not live in a nanny state.” The biggest target audience isn’t drivers, but disgruntled charter-bus passengers just trying to pass the time. [Guardian]

Anti-Drunk-Driving Groups Aren’t Too Happy About England’s Rest-Stop