In a viral TikTok video, a North Carolina bartender shared why she was happy to see a parking lot full of cars despite few people being at the bar.
In the video, Michelle Kimball (@michellebellexo) explains that she was heading into the bar where she works on a Sunday afternoon to shoot a sketch video for her popular TikTok page.
When she pulled up to the bar, she noticed there were several cars in the parking lot.
“I was like, ‘Wow. It must be really busy,’” for it being a Sunday at 1 p.m., she says in the clip.
Turns out, after actually walking into the establishment, that the place is actually quite empty.
“There’s only one person here,” she shares.
She explains that as a bartender, she loves to see this happen because it means the bar patrons drank responsibly and left their cars at the bar instead of driving home drunk, endangering their lives and others.
“Thank you to all of our patrons who drank responsibly and did not drink and drive,” Kimball says.
The video has more than 1.1 million views and nearly 200 comments as of Monday morning.
“This is why we don’t tow cars. We encourage people to have a good time and leave their cars overnight if they shouldn’t drive,” the caption read.
@michellebellexo This is why we don’t tow cars. We encourage people to have a good time and leave their cars overnight if they shouldn’t drive #dontdrinkanddrive #drinkresposibly #itsnotworthit #bartender ♬ original sound – Michelle Charlotte Bartender
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that about 37 people die in drunk-driving crashes in the United States every day. That’s about one person every 39 minutes. These preventable deaths are on the rise. In 2021, 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths. That’s a 14% increase from 2020.
Kimball is a popular TikToker, and the Charlotte, N.C.-based bartender was declared by The Charlotte Observer as “Charlotte’s TikTok bartender.”
In the comments section, a few people shared how their local bars encourage people to leave their cars instead of driving drunk.
“The bar I work at, if someone does this we put coupon for free appetizer or drink to say thank you for not driving (:,” a top comment read.
“I left my car at a bar once and when I went to pick it up, some guy was out washing everyone’s cars! Like a thank you for not drinking and driving,” another person shared.
In a comment reply, Kimball pointed out that anyone who feels unsure about whether it’s okay to leave their car should ask the bar’s towing policy “just to be safe.”
The Daily Dot has previously covered Kimball’s videos, including one instance where a customer tried to get a free drink after making a mistake ordering it and another in which she said her bar was being generous, only charging $8 for a frozen pizza.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kimball for comment via email.
