How to Stay Safe at Night? Know These 7 Safety Tips!

Headed out but wondering how to stay safe at night? Know these 7 safety tips!

Recently my wife went out with some friends here in Phoenix.  Their plan was to simply have a ladies night out.  Lots of great conversation and something good to eat along with some good wine….just the girls.  Sounds like the perfect evening out!  Doesn’t it?

After having dinner, my wife and her two friends ended up at Mastro’s City Grill here in Phoenix.  For anyone reading this who is familiar with Mastro’s you know it’s a nice place.  It certainly isn’t a place where you would think that safety would be a concern, but not on this night.

They arrived at about 10:30 p.m. on a Thursday night.  The restaurant and bar weren’t very busy, which may have been part of the issue.  My wife and her friends ordered a bottle of wine and settled in to enjoy each other’s company.  At about 11:30 the bartender told them that the restaurant was closing and they would need to finish their drinks and leave…..now.  They said that they needed to call an Uber and were, once again, told that they needed to finish their drinks and leave now.  They were escorted to the door and they door was then shut behind them and locked.

So what’s the problem:

• By this time on a Thursday night the Valets were no longer out front, so it was simply the three of them waiting in the parking lot for an Uber at 11:30 at night.
• They then realized that if they each took their own Uber home, at some point one of them would probably be left waiting alone in the parking lot for her ride because the other two had already left. Would you want your wife, girlfriend, or daughter left alone in a parking lot in the middle of the night?

Why was the restaurant not willing to allow them to wait inside where they knew they would be safe?  It would have only been about ten minutes until their rides arrived.  This isn’t simply a customer service issue, it’s a safety/security issue that was created because the bartender wanted to get home as quickly as possible.

So this made me think about how to stay safe at night, and I want to share my thoughts with you.

1. Go out in a group – When friends go out together it is easier to keep an eye on each other and help one another if someone in the group might be in trouble. If going out alone or meeting someone you don’t know well, make sure someone knows where you are going, when you’ll be back, and how to reach you.
2. Keep your phone charged – You don’t know when your phone might be necessary. Keep it charged in case you need to call the police or a friend.
3. Stay Sober – Never drink so much that your safety is compromised. Make sure you are able to get home.
4. Check out the reputation of the place you are going to – Nothing is worse than going somewhere new and it makes you feel uneasy. This is the problem that my wife and her friends had. A good way to avoid this is to check out the Google or Yelp reviews of the establishment.
5. Don’t drink and drive – driving impaired is illegal and you could seriously hurt yourself, the people in your car, and bystanders. Just take an Uber, Lyft, car service, or taxi. These days getting a ride is easy and inexpensive!
6. Alert the staff if someone is bothering you – sometimes people you don’t know might get aggressive when drinking. If someone isn’t taking the hint to leave you alone, tell a member of the staff; it is safer than confronting them yourself. If they attempt to follow you if you leave, call 9-1-1.
7. Keep an eye on your drink – Only accept a drink given to you by the bartender directly. The use of inhibiting drugs isn’t just a stranger phenomenon; sometimes people you think are your friend can have agendas you don’t know about. Always watch your drink and if you start to not feel well or feel more inebriated than expected, immediately seek help from someone on the staff.

Generally going out at night is safe and you don’t have anything to worry about, but you do need to be informed, proactive, and spend some time thinking about how to stay safe at night.  Over the years at Zanes Law we have represented clients who have been assaulted at bars, who have been harmed by drunk drivers, who have been the victims of crimes at bars, and who have been injured by the negligence of bars owners and their staff.  So it is good to be informed about how to stay safe at night and be proactive.

If you have been injured in any way, please call us and we will do our best to help you just like we helped our client Azrith Hunkin who left the following Google review:

Zane’s law took over my case and was able to get me my settlement with precision and efficiency.

Doug Zanes: Founding Attorney Raised in Douglas, Arizona, and went to college at Arizona State University and graduated from law school at St. Mary’s University School of Law in Texas. Doug began practicing law in Phoenix Arizona in 1997.