RSA Course Online

Author: Peter Cutforth

  • Alcohol Suspected in Car Wreck in which 5 were injured

     

    A woman whose state of mind was impaired by alcohol is alleged to have been the cause of a car crash in which 5 people were injured. The woman crossed the centre line of the road, going over onto oncoming traffic and striking another vehicle. The woman was also travelling over the speed limit and according to police was not wearing her seatbelt. In addition to being injured herself, the driver also caused the injuries of other innocent road users, an example of the real cost of drink driving, in addition to the financial costs of fines and penalties.

    Read about the accident below with a post from www.news-record.com:

    Eden police said they suspect a woman was impaired from drinking alcohol when she crossed the center line and crashed into another vehicle Thursday evening, injuring herself and four other people.

    Eden police said Rhonda Reid Wood, 49, of Eden was driving her Chevy Malibu above the speed limit west in the 100 block of East Aiken Road about 7 p.m. when she crossed the center line and struck a Toyota Camry.

    Wood and the driver of the Camry, a 29-year-old Eden woman, were taken by helicopter to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. Wood was listed in serious condition Friday morning. The driver of the Camry had been released from the hospital.

    The three passengers in the Camry — a 36-year-old man, a 7-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy — were taken to Morehead Memorial Hospital in Eden.

    The adult passenger was later released. Information about the children was not immediately available.

    Source: http://www.news-record.com/news/787889-63/number-of-victims-unknown-in

    Although this incident occurred in The USA, similar situations are occurring on a regular basis in Australia and it is a relevant topic because statistics for Oz show that almost all fatal crashes involve drink drivers.

    Responsible service of alcohol employees need to understand the role they play in ensuring patrons do not drink and drive. Not serving too many drinks to the same person and stopping patrons from driving if you are aware that they are intoxicated or over the legal limit are part of a server’s responsibility, whether you are a waiter, bartender or sommelier. Any worker of a licenced venue as well as licensees need to undergo Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training in order to understand their duties and RSA responsibilities.

    The fact that 30 per cent of all fatal drink drive crashes occur between 9 pm and 3 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights indicates that RSA staff need to be extra vigilant at these times, which could be a challenge because bars and pubs are usually most crowded around these times.

    RSA staff should assist patrons that are visibly intoxicated to call for transport home, whether it bea taxi, a friend or family member and encourage them not to drive. If necessary call the transport for them and do your part to keep our roads safe for all Australians.

     

  • Indonesian Island Promises Crackdown on Alcohol after Aussie Death

    For those who love holidaying in exotic Indonesia but are afraid of drinking when there may have reason to put their concerns to bed. After an Aussie teen died a few months ago after drinking alcoholic drinks laced with toxic methanol, many Australians (and people from around the world) have been afraid to return to the island or consume alcoholic drinks, especially cocktails while on holiday in that part of the world. But now Indonesian authorities have vowed to get to the bottom of the issue by revoking the business licence of any place found to be selling cheap, unregistered alcohol.

    The incident was a wake-up call to many tourists that cheap, homemade alcohol is a common occurrence in many of these developing holiday nations because more money can be made by purchasing cheaper alcohol. Homemade alcohol has now been banned on the holiday island and business risk losing their right to do business if they are caught by authorities.

    Read more below with a post taken from Abc.net.au:

    Tourism authorities on an Indonesian holiday island are cracking down on homemade alcohol after the death of an Australian teenager last month.

    Liam Davies from Perth died from methanol poisoning after drinking cocktails at a bar on Lombok Island near Bali.

    Now the North Lombok tourism office is threatening to revoke the business licences of any outlet found to be selling unregistered alcohol.

    Office spokesman FahmanToriki says they are concerned tourists will stop coming to the popular holiday area unless they clean up the alcohol industry.

    He says they have told all hotels on nearby GiliTrawangan Island that they are not allowed to sell homemade alcohol.

    Mr Toriki says a campaign has also begun to warn tourists against drinking unregistered drinks.

    Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-13/indonesia-holiday-island-vows-alcohol-crackdown/4517354

    A similar incident occurred last year in the Czech Republic when 22 people died after drinking methanol laced vodka. Vodka is a common drink in that part of the world and there has never been too much restriction on alcohol sales until now.

    Although these incidents are extremely tragic, we can learn from them. Even though it is unlikely that we will encounter fake alcohol in Oz, we should still be careful when purchasing alcohol, especially when travelling overseas make sure you know what you’re drinking and that you are buying a sealed bottle from a reputable place.

    The substances the criminals usually make fake alcohol with is poisonous, including chemicals such as cleaning fluids, nail polish remover, isopropanol and as in this case methanol. People are often fooled by these fakes because they give off the same feeling as normal alcohol at first, but it’s only a matter of time before the effects turn deadly. Rather pay more but know that what you are drinking is safe but if you cannot determine for certain whether the alcohol is legit, abstain altogether.

     

  • Making a Cocktail Dessert

    If there are 2 things that everybody loves its cocktails and dessert. So why not combine the 2 and make something your guests or customers will really enjoy. Jelly shots are basically just vodka and jelly but you could make them with other types of alcohol too. Vodka has a taste that lends itself well to other flavours, so it is most commonly used when making jelly shots.

    Make a lot of different flavours of jelly and they look beautiful with all the colours. Watch this video by a professional mixologist that shows you exactly how to make the perfect jelly shot.

    But be careful when eating them, they are easy to over-do because you feel like you’re having dessert more than drinking, and you could quickly find yourself quite tipsy.

    Link http://youtu.be/obAL3sPcK8E

    Why not prepare your jelly shots in hollowed out fruit skins for a beautiful and professional look. Simply scoop out the flesh from the fruit and pour in the vodka/jelly mixture before freezing in a baking tray so that the fruit stays upright. The result is quite impressive.

    megan_jello_2

    Photo Source: http://kirtsy.com/2011/11/02/fancy-fruit-wedge-jelly-shots-for-grown-ups-how-to/

    megan_jello_3

    Photo Source: http://kirtsy.com/2011/11/02/fancy-fruit-wedge-jelly-shots-for-grown-ups-how-to/

     megan_jello_4

    Photo Source: http://kirtsy.com/2011/11/02/fancy-fruit-wedge-jelly-shots-for-grown-ups-how-to/

     

  • Palm Islanders Launch 580 Separate Appeals in Court against AMPs

    The state government is currently in the midst of reviewing its alcohol management plan (AMP) that will address “sly-grogging” matters as the  AMPsare challenged in the High Court. But Palm islanders are trying beat charges of “sly-grogging” according to an article on TheAustralian.com.au and feel that the alcohol management plans are discriminatory towards them. They have subsequently lodged 580 separate appeals in court in an attempt to avoid fines and jail time.

    The High Court will soon deliver its decision about a case brought to court and argued by Joan Monica Maloney that Alcohol management plans are discriminatory. Should the court rule in Maloney’s favour and find that AMPs are discriminatory in terms of the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act, the police may be liable to pay thousands in compensation for all the alcohol they’ve seized as part of the AMPs.

    The police however have called upon the government to maintain the AMPs which it believes are keeping violence and sexual assault somewhat at bay, especially against women and children. The police say if the court rules in Maloney’s favour, the number of women and children abused as result of alcohol will “skyrocket”.

    According to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service solicitor quoted in the article, the prohibitions contained in the AMPs would just drive the problems to continue underground. While those that lodged the appeals are not arguing that all AMPs were wrong but that the plans legislated were not discussed with the community.

    Read what he and others had to say about the issue from the post on TheAustralian.com.au:

    “There is a huge amount of organised sly-grogging happening on Palm Island. Just about any type of liquor can easily be bought from the sly-groggers,” he told The Courier-Mail.

    “As an example, one can only buy one six-pack of XXXX Gold beer at a time from the only hotel on Palm Island at a cost of $30 … $120 a carton.

    “Sly-groggers will deliver a carton to your door, chilled, for $110 a carton. Compare this with $37.99 a carton and $12.49 a six-pack in Townsville. Sly-groggers therefore have a (huge) profit margin.”

    Only low-strength beer can be legally bought and consumed on Palm Island.

    The office of the Attorney-General, Jarrod Bleijie, confirmed there had been 580 appeals lodged in Townsville District Court relating to charges of sly-grogging..

    “Irrespective of the current High Court challenge it still remains an offence to possess alcohol in a restricted area.

    “Alcohol management plans were introduced as a special measure to reduce violence and increase social cohesion within communities, and that will continue to be the focus of Newman Government programs and services,” Mr Bleijie’s spokesman said.

    Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/binge-on-prohibition-appeals-as-high-court-set-to-deliver-alcohol-management-plan-discrimination-rulling/story-e6frg6n6-1226581452927

    Ian Leavers, the police union president has argued that the people of Palm Island have never enjoyed such safety and anyone who believes that the AMPs are discriminatory are not aware of the just much alcohol has devastated these communities in the past.

     

  • Responsible Service of Alcohol: Operation Rushmore rolled out in Sydney CBD over Weekend

    The weekend is one of the worst times for alcohol fuelled crime and binge drinking in Sydney’s CBD and last weekend was no different. Police in the CBD embarked on “Operation Rushmore 4” the latest round of police inspections aimed at rooting out harmful drinking behaviour leading to violence.

    Each night this weekend police patrolled the entertainment districts and licenced venues. The operations yielded 40 arrests and 54 charges were laid against drunk troublemakers.

    These are the types of operations that patrons and licensees should expect in the future and any venues found guilty of Responsible Service of Alcohol breaches will find themselves on the 3 strikes register.

    Police have run special operations targeting alcohol related violence for a number of years, and police are pleased with this weekend’s success.

    Over 260 police officers were on the street carrying out the operation, roaming the streets in order to deter would-be troublemakers with their presence and to catch people displaying anti-social behaviour related to binge drinking.

    According to police, the aim of the operation is to encourage patrons to drink responsibly. Even though police are pleased with this weekend’s results, 43 arrests were still made, totalling 54 charges. Police searched 91 people with another 176 moved on from trouble spots.

    Officers from the Highway patrol conducted in excess of 1400 random breath tests, with 400 infringement notices being handed out

    Read more about the operation with this post from TheShout.com.au:

    Over 260 police officers were deployed each night of the weekend in the latest round of Operation Rushmore, the NSW Police initiative to target alcohol-related violence in Sydney’s CBD.

    From Friday to Sunday nights police inspected licensed premises and patrolled key areas, arresting 40 people and laying 54 charges “against a number of people who, as a result of the excessive consumption of alcohol, caused trouble and committed a number of violent offences” said acting superintendent Tony Bell in a statement yesterday.

    The activity concentrated on the entertainment precincts at The Rocks, George St, Oxford St and Kings Cross and is the fourth round of Operation Rushmore.

    Previous operations have also resulted in multiple venues being added to the NSW ‘3-Strikes’ register.

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2013/02/18/article/Police-swarm-Sydney-in-latest-crackdown/IPXDYWUDBV.html

    Although pleased with the outcome of the operation, police are still concerned about the number of young people roaming the streets, “looking for trouble”. This is even more worrying than the adults that were found because it indicates that young people are starting at an even earlier age to abuse alcohol and cause trouble.  Police found a number of these young people roaming the streets. 11 young persons were detained and assisted home, the youngest one of them being only 13 years old.

    Police are expected to continue these types of operations with the support and backing of the government and the public who are sick and tired of the alcohol fuelled violence in the entertainment districts. Police are confident that with continued operations they will be able to positively impact the safety in these districts and make them safer for all patrons, with licensees and their staff also playing an vital role in controlling binge drinking by monitoring how much alcohol patrons are served.

     

  • Perth Restaurant Liquor Licences Could Ease

    Perth restaurants may soon be allowed to serve alcohol without food if Premier Colin Barnett keeps his pledge to end restrictions that prevent bar patrons from carrying their own drink from a licenced zone to an alfresco area.

    Barnett also wants restaurants with less than 120 people to responsibly serve alcohol to seated patrons without having to serve them a meal.

    If Barnett is re-elected, he said he would reform many of the “outdated” liquor licensing regulations so that people can enjoy a drink at a restaurant instead of a bar or tavern.

    Read the post below from News.com.au that explains further:

    “This change will mean that people who would like to have a drink at a restaurant, for instance after a show or event, can do so without having to order a meal,” he said at Wembley eatery Three Five Three this afternoon.

    Mr Barnett said venues like The Flying Scotsman, The George and the Belgian Beer Cafe were currently under the strain of restrictive laws and would benefit from his proposed changes.

    Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said ensuring diners were seated was an important distinction between restaurants and bars, hotels and taverns.

    “The policy eliminates unnecessary red tape for restaurants wishing to offer a drink without a meal and removes the requirement for a special permit,” he said.

    Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/colin-barnett-to-ease-liquor-laws-in-restaurants/story-fndo4e3y-1226573869246

    If Barnett gets his way it is possible that waitrons who previously never served alcohol will begin to do so and therefore must undergo responsible service of alcohol training.

    RSA training will enable servers, whether in a pub, hotel or restaurant to understand their obligations in serving liquor responsibly and the types of strategies that can be implemented to make a venue more responsible in its supply of alcohol to customers.

    Some of the subjects covered by the responsible service of alcohol training includes who you can and cannot serve alcohol to and why, the consequences of serving intoxicated patrons and how to safeguard yourself, your venue and patrons from the negative consequences of alcohol abuse.

    Anyone who works in the hospitality industry or is involved with the service or supply of alcohol must undergo this training including: licensees,  approved managers, staff, including promotional staff, involved in the sale, supply and service of alcohol, volunteers, including club directors, who have liquor service responsibilities and  security officers with crowd control duties, even restaurant staff who serve alcohol.

    Another post on TheAustralian.com.au sums up Barnett’s promise:

    The Premier said his pledge ahead of the March 9 election would end the restriction that prevented bar patrons from carrying their own drink from a licensed zone to an alfresco area.

    He said it would also allow restaurants with less than 120 people to responsibly serve alcohol to seated patrons without serving them a meal.

    If the Liberal Party was re-elected, it would reform the outdated liquor licensing regulations so people could enjoy a drink at a restaurant instead of a bar or tavern, Mr Barnett said.

    Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/colin-barnett-to-ease-liquor-laws-in-restaurants/story-e6frg6n6-1226573869246

     

     

  • RSA Update: Does Liquor Outlet Density Affect Residents Health?

    A question that often faces the community and authorities in charge of issuing liquor licences is whether or not the density of liquor outlets and licenced venues in a neighbourhood has an effect on the health of people in that neighbourhood.

    Many believe that the more licenced venues and outlets an area has, the more difficult it is to enforce responsible service of alcohol laws.

    Now new research by the University of Western Australia has determined that people with more liquor outlets in their neighbourhood do in fact have higher levels of harmful/ binge drinking and also suffer from worse mental health that those who live a further distance away from outlets.

    The study funded by Healthway was published in a prestigious online US journal called PLOS One and is important because most research on alcohol outlet density in the past has focused only on violence, crime, safety and vehicle crashes. The findings of the research are particularly significant because it supports the plan by the WA Health Department to establish a healthier WA,part of the plan is to limit the density of alcohol outlets.

    The research found that the rate of alcohol consumption and harmful alcohol consumption in particular increased as the number of alcohol outlets in the neighbourhood also increased. This also has an effect on the mental health of the neighbourhood as well because the study shows that more people had to be treated for anxiety, depression and stress in areas that were more densely filled with liquor outlets.

    What the research proves is that authorities concerns about alcohol outlet density is valid and limiting the number of outlets in a particular area is warranted.

    Read the post below which elaborates on the research from www.news.uwa.edu.au:

    Co-author Associate Professor Lisa Wood, Deputy Director of UWA’s Centre for the Built Environment and Health, said the study reinforced the WA Health Department’s five-year plan for a healthier WA.

    “One of the suggestions in the five-year plan is limiting the density of alcohol outlets,” she said.

    “We found that the average number of standard drinks per day and the rate of harmful alcohol consumption increased for each additional alcohol outlet in a neighbourhood.”

    The researchers also found that the likelihood of being treated in hospital for anxiety, stress or depression increased as the number of alcohol outlets within walking distance (1600m) of home increased.

    “While the association between alcohol outlet density and injury, crime and violence are well documented, this is one of the first studies internationally to specifically look at how this might impact on mental health disorders,” Associate Professor Wood said. 

    The study was based on Department of Health survey data from nearly 7000 Perth-based adults, and used geographical mapping to link this to the location of all licensed alcohol outlets in Perth.

    “Our findings underscore the importance of limiting both the number of liquor store licences and the geographic density of outlets as a way to improve mental health and reduce other alcohol-related harm,” Associate Professor Wood said.

    Source: http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/201301235382/research/health-issues-linked-nearby-liquor-outlets

     

  • Best Way to Get Employed in a Night Spot

    Any person wishing to obtain employment in the nightclub industry must first undergo responsible service of alcohol training.

    All bar staff, managers and licensees must be formally trained in responsible service of alcohol in order to keep the laws that govern the sale of alcohol to customers.

    The consequences of serving unduly intoxicated patrons can go beyond fines for licensees and their staff, people can get hurt and lives can be lost if responsible service of alcohol rules are not applied.

    RSA training will enable servers to understand their obligations in serving liquor responsibly and the types of strategies that can be implemented to make a venue more responsible in its supply of alcohol to customers.

    RSA training applies to any worker in a licenced venue including, licensees; approved managers; staff, including promotional staff, involved in the sale, supply and service of alcohol; volunteers, including club directors, who have liquor service responsibilities and security officers with crowd control duties.

    So the best way to get start a new career as a bartender, waitrons, security staff or even bar manager, in fact any employment in a licenced venues, is to undergo your RSA training. This can be done cheaply and conveniently online and upon successful completion of the course you are issued with a photo card which will permit you to work in a licenced venue anywhere in Oz.

    For more information about how to register visit our homepage.

     

  • Pub Staff and Patrons Fight to Keep Pub Open

    Liquor authorities recently suspended the licence of 2 popular Subiaco night spots after police lodged a complaint against the 2 bars which operate under the same licence at the same property. The action has left around 50 staff in limbo as the venues that employ them face an uncertain future, so do they.

    Police requested that authorities take action against the licensee for breaching licence conditions, although they have not made public what these breaches were. The venues were forced to close despite petitions from staff and patrons.

    The staff are the ones suffering the most because most of them depend on their jobs at the nightclubs for financial survival. Employees are concerned that as the venues are closed they will not get paid and will therefore not be able to pay bills and make ends meet. Some staff may have to be laid off.

    Read an excerpt from a post on Au.News.Yahoo.com that details further the predicament staff of the venues find themselves in:

    On Thursday, director of liquor licensing Barry Sargeant issued a Section 91 order, which suspends the venues’ licence. The order means the Gold Bar and Red Sea cannot trade until the suspension is lifted.

    “This is a very serious situation for the licensee of the venues which employs 40 part-time staff and seven full-time staff,” a spokeswoman for the licensee said.

    “For the majority of staff, their position at the nightclubs represents their only source of income.

    “The nightclub owners will have to assess which staff may need to be laid off.”

    The spokeswoman also said the owners were trying to notify patrons of the situation. Functions, including an Australia Day event, birthday parties, hens’ nights and charity events – have been cancelled.

    Gold Bar bar manager Caleb Bloomer works up to four shifts a week at the venue to support himself as he studies commerce at the University of WA.

    He said staff and patrons had been aware of the complaint since last month and had been signing a petition to keep the nightspot open.

    “It’s come as a bit of a blow to me because, financially, I am trying to support myself and not many places are looking for workers at this time of the year,” Mr Bloomer said.

    Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/15957603/liquor-bans-on-subi-nightspots/

    This story is a very harsh reminder of what can happen if staff and licensees do not enforce Responsible service of alcohol laws. Although it is not known what was the cause of this licence being suspended we can only speculate that since the police were involved it was RSA related.

    Other licenced venue owners and staff should learn a lesson from this incident because the excerpt above points out, while patrons may lose their hangout, staff are the ones who really suffer when licences are suspended or revoked.

    This should encourage staff at other venues to do all they can to reduce the alcohol fuelled violence surrounding their venues, by not serving unduly intoxicated patrons, not serving alcohol to minors and limiting the number of drinks they sell to any one patron, as well as enforcing all other responsible serving rules.

    More about how to serve alcohol responsibly and avoid a similar situation at your venue can be obtained by completing your Responsible Service of Alcohol training. Not only is RSA training mandatory for work in a licenced venue but it will ensure that your source of income (the club or venue that employs you) is protected from similar situations and you and your employer do not hold any legal liability for incidents that occur in the area.

     

  • Australians apparently tired of Extreme Alcohol Messages

    According to a post I discovered on TheShout.com, the Australian people are becoming increasingly annoyed at hearing messages about the woes of alcohol which anti-alcohol activists are pushing on people. According to a political commentator people are sick of hearing how excessive alcohol consumption is bad for them.

    This is a problem because when people become tired of hearing the message, they will begin to ignore the message and this will exacerbate the problems associated with binge drinking such as alcohol fuelled brawls.

    Read what the post had to say:

    Australians are sick of being preached to by anti-alcohol activists, argues political commentator Christian Kerr.

     Kerr this week penned a column for The Australian arguing that preventative health is too heavily influenced by ideology rather than hard evidence. He told TheShout that Australians are starting to see through activists’ agendas and he forecasted that the ‘nanny-state’ will become an election issue.

     “Australians don’t like wowsers,” Kerr said. “We are basically a common-sense lot, and don’t like people telling us how to live our lives.

     “If Australians feel as though they are being preached to, they either switch off or rebel.

     “Public health advocates should remember this, or risk a backlash and people ignoring messages.”

     AHA (NSW) CEO Paul Nicolaou added: “These groups won’t be happy until we are all vegetarians living in solar powered huts drinking nothing but water and eating nothing but tofu.”

     “Bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy – the perfect example of interest groups trying to justify their existence.”

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2013/01/23/article/Australians-switching-off-to-wowsers/THGHTJXBUR.html

    Unfortunately the alcohol fuelled problems are not stopping which presents an even bigger problem. If people are no longer willing to listen to the experts and continue to abuse alcohol at their current rate, authorities will be forced to take even further action. Strategies such as sobering centres could become more common and spread across the country. Also police will be forced to take a stronger stance against people drinking in public and the alcohol fuelled violence that has followed it.

    Although the post insists that Aussies are a sensible lot, we cannot generalise. A culture of excessive drinking has been entrenched in our society and it is because of this handful of alcohol abusers that we are inundated with messages of alcohol’s ability to cause harm.

    Of course servers of alcohol, like bartenders, waitrons and liquor store sales people play a crucial role in the fight against this anti-social behaviour. This can be done by limiting the amount of alcohol sold to any one customer and never providing alcohol to unduly intoxicated patrons. Another important consideration is ensuring they do not serve alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age.

    They should also make every attempt to help people get home safely by encouraging them to call a taxi or take public transport to prevent drink driving and loitering which has been shown to contribute to alcohol fuelled violence in many areas. Even security staff of licenced venues has a role to play in combatting these problematic issues, and must undergo Responsible Service of Alcohol training so that the messages that dominate our media about the dangers of alcohol consumption can soon come to an end.