NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Ever since a man from Michigan fell off a party bus in late July, there have been calls for new regulations for so-called "transpotainment" vehicles.
Those calls are backed by some city leaders and a petition.
A new video of a man stumbling from a pedal tavernis causing more concern.
The 19-second video in question shows a man sitting on the back seat of a parked pedal tavern. As he's getting off he stumbles into a moving car, hits his head and then gets up to walk away.
Nashville Pedal Tavern owns the transpotainment vehicle.
They said in a statement the man was not a patron or passenger. Groups are instructed to yell "stranger danger" as part of safety guidelines, which is what the group did when the man sat down.
He fell when they asked him to get off, the company said.
The statement said the company follows strict policies when it comes to regulating alcohol to avoid passengers getting into these situations.
The company supports safety regulations and guidelines, but does not agree with assumptions that every company is dangerous.
The petition with almost 2,500 signatures calls to limit the number of transpotainment vehicles on the road and incentivize the companies that are playing by the rules.
Last week, the city opted not to approve any new vehicles until more rules are made.
Below is the full statement from Nashville Petal Tavern:
"The man in this video was not a patron or passenger of Nashville Pedal Tavern. Our bachelorette private party was at the end of their tour when an overly intoxicated man stumbled up from the street and jumped on the bike without invitation. The group yelled "stranger danger" as instructed as part of our safety guidelines. This is when both the driver and group told the man to leave immediately. He then got off and stumbled into the car. Multiple people including the men in the car attempted to ask him if he was ok but he just ran off.
Context is everything and unfortunately this video does not show where he came from, what was said, or how the driver & group handled the situation. We are proud that our company guidelines and procedures were followed by both our guests and driver, but discouraged discouraged at the situation the man put us in. We enforce firm safety guidelines as well as Code of Conduct for both our drivers and passengers and have an 11 year track record to back it up.
This video is not a Nashville Pedal Tavern issue but is clearly an over-intoxication issue. When guests are with us, they are screened prior to the tour for intoxication, ID checked, as well as monitored by our drivers during the tour who are all ABC certified. We absolutely do not allow our guests on board or the opportunity to get to the intoxication level this man was at. There is a much bigger issue in Nashville right now than us, yet we are the target people point fingers at. There is no accountability for establishments over-serving customers, an influx in new, unregulated vehicles hitting the streets every weekend, an increase in violence and crime on a daily basis and more.
Regarding approving more vehicles, please know that the TLC currently only has authority to regulate or authorize permits for pedal carriages (us), pedi-cabs, taxis etc. There is no current authorization for the city to permit or regulate the mass majority of party vehicles on the streets today. Pedal carriages are the only ones regulated but yet makeup for less than 10% of the entertainment companies on Nashville streets.
We support the push for safety regulations and guidelines but we believe they should be industry wide and not just for "Pedal Carriages". We do not agree with assumptions that every company is dangerous; especially when assumptions are put before investigation, such as the case with this video.
We appreciate the opportunity to present a statement on this video and the current situation in Nashville. Anyone that has taken the time to see our company's operation and speak with us has typically left with a new perspective but we rarely get that opportunity."
