Why are there so Few Legal Tour Drivers in Wine Country?
There are three groups of people who drive wine tours in Napa and Sonoma. First, there are the tour guides like ourselves, who are normally family businesses or individuals who are licensed by the Public Utilities Commission, commercially insured to at least $750,000.00, drive their own tour cars, typically SUV's, who are drug tested, and have clean driving records (otherwise we can't get insurance), and have a broad and detailed knowledge of the area and the art of wine making.
Next, there are limousine and bus companies. They of course have the same legal, insurance and drug testing requirements. They typically, although not always, have a core team of drivers who are knowledgeable (about 10%) about wine country, and then a larger, revolving group of drivers who work for a while and then burn out. Wine touring is a surprisingly demanding job with extremely irregular hours and very seasonal. While they are great for bus work with their bigger fleets, airport and dinner transportation, wine tours can be hit or miss depending on the knowledge of the driver.
The third group are either on the edge of legal, or completely illegal, and those are people who drive tours, while ignoring all of the legal requirements (unlicensed). That's illegal. The other group drives other people's cars for them, also skirting the legal responsibilities. There have been court cases about this kind of service in other states, and the courts typically rule against the driving service and the rental companies. As people have been downsized we've seen an upsurge in this third group.
While we appreciate that this third group prevent drunks from driving themselves there is one little problem. This is the North Bay, which has a small population, Napa is only about 150,000 people, and Sonoma is about twice that. This is also wine country, the number of people who have DUI's on their record is large, and that excludes a person from being insured. Sonoma especially, is dotted with hydroponic growing supply stores. Why? Because northern Sonoma is the southern edge of the Emerald Triangle, the finest marijuana growing region in the country. That crop is a major part of Mendocino counties economy. Finding people who can pass the drug test here is challenging.
The point is, the people in the third group sidestep the need to prove, or even maintain a good driving record and a clear head. We've heard of drivers tasting the wine along with the clients. That's the point of having a driver. Many times clients have told us that it's okay if we taste with them. One of the reasons they are paying us is 'to not drink'. Think about it, driving around wine country tasting wine with a group of friendly people, that's the kind of thing we do for free. Honestly, the work is harder than it looks and if we drank during it we wouldn't be able to do a good job.
So, when you look for someone to drive you remember that the professional companies licensed by the PUC, with TCP numbers (ours is 23123) published on their websites and printed materials, spend a bunch of money and time and commitment to make sure that we can do the best, and safest job possible for our clients. That is why you can hire us with confidence.
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