Ohio Bar's Display of Drunk Driving License Plates 'Not About Being Disrespectful

Pastor Ken Hopkins, who lost his son after a wreck with a drunk driver with 11 prior offenses, finds a display of license plates by a Mentor, Ohio, bar very offensive. So does the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

But Shari Rymer, owner of the Stadium Grill, which displays the drunken driving plates on the wall, said it's not the intent to offend anyone or make light of the offense. Rather, she hopes the display will discourage patrons from getting behind the wheel if they've had too much.

In Ohio, those convicted of drunken driving multiple times are required to put restrictive plates on their vehicles, indicating they were guilty of drunken driving. The Stadium Grill displays more than 15 of the plates. In Ohio, the legal term is Operating a Vehicle Impaired (OVI), instead of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) as in most areas.

When the sentence is over, the OVI convicts that frequent the Stadium Grill donate the plate of shame to be displayed on the wall of the bar, Fox 8 of Cleveland reported.

“Yeah I don’t think it’s a joking matter, really disturbs someone who has had a loss to hear of something like that,” Hopkins said.

Julie Leggett, executive director of North East Ohio Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agreed that it is not a laughing matter.

“I can’t believe they would do something like this,” Leggett told Fox 8. “Only because it becomes a wall of honor, nothing honorable about being a repeat OVI offender.”

Rymer, the bar's owner, said making drunken driving honorable was never the intent. She is a recovering alcoholic who has been charged with drunken driving twice herself, according to Fox 8.

She said the bar hosts Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and takes drunken driving very serious. She also said displaying the plates began with the previous owner.

“It’s freedom of speech and it’s my bar,” Rymer said. “I can decorate any way I want to. Who’s to say I can’t have them up?”

“I can’t repeat it enough; it’s not about being disrespectful. It’s not,” she added.

(H/T: Fox 8 Cleveland)

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