More than 30,000 people sign petition to stop another Riley Strain tragedy with crackdown on the boozy Nashville district linked to his mystery death

More than 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for bars in Nashville's famous boozing district to call cabs for drunk punters, in honor of a student who died after a night out in the city last month.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 30,925 people had joined the call to action over the death of Riley Strain, 22, a student who vanished during a bar crawl with his friends on March 8 and was found dead 14 days later.

They want a law requiring Nashville bars to call cabs for drunk and disoriented customers.

'Let's not let Riley's tragedy end in vain,' says the petition. 

Campaigners want Luke's 32 Bridge and other downtown Nashville bars to take more care of drunk customers 

Michelle Strain Whiteid and her son, Riley Strain, a student who vanished during a bar crawl with his friends in Nashville on March 8 and was found dead 14 days later

'We were all young once and made choices, such as over-drinking … It is a business owner's responsibility for safety, not only at their establishment, but also for their customers' to leave safely.'

Strain was partying with his University of Missouri fraternity brothers when he was asked to leave Luke's 32 Bridge, a bar on Broadway, an entertainment district known for honky-tonks and live country music, in the Tennessee city.

His body was found in the Cumberland River, and while investigators say he fell in the water while drunk, the Strain family disputes this — and questions remain unanswered as to what caused the sandy-haired 22-year-old's death.

The petition, posted March 24 on change.org, is called Riley's Act.

It seeks action from the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Tennessee State Senate and the Nashville City Council to tighten the rules on bars when dealing with intoxicated customers.

Some of the petition's signers say they have first-hand experience of the dangers in Nashville.

The Change.org petition features video posts of signers with first-hand experience of the dangers of Nashville after-hours 

Strain was seen stumbling around the streets of Nashville on the night he vanished

'I'm a 23-year-old and I know what it is like to have drunk friends at a bar,' said a young woman in a video post on the site.

She spoke of a friend's 21st birthday in Nashville that 'could have ended horribly' after she almost got into the wrong cab.

'I support Riley's Act 100 percent,' she added.

A Tennessee mom who signed the petition called the incident a 'stain on Nashville.'

'I take this extremely seriously,' she said.

'I would not appreciate anyone kicking [my son] out of anything without calling him an Uber … these kids do not know where they are.'

While many support the petition, others disagree.

Critics say bar owners are not responsible for the behavior or drinking habits of their customers.

It is unclear whether any state lawmakers will act on the petition.

Strain disappeared on a March 8 night after being kicked out of Luke Bryan's bar.

After videos of Strain ambling through Nashville went viral, his body was found 14 days later on March 22 in the Cumberland River.

He was found by a worker for a local building materials company that unloads barges at the river

Michelle Strain Whiteid, said her son told her his drink 'tasted like barbecue' and she advised him not to drink it

Nashville Police searched a homeless encampment on the water's edge after people living their reported having seen the missing student on the night of his disappearance 

A preliminary autopsy found that Strain's body had no cuts or bruises to suggest foul play, which Chris Dingman, a friend of the family, says is inconsistent with the fall police describe.

The medical examiner also said there was no water in Strain's lungs — which casts further doubt over how Strain died.

Strain's parents raised the possibility this month that someone 'helped' their son into the water.

'If he truly fell in the water, and you can prove that to me, show me,' his stepfather, Chris Whiteid, told NewsNation earlier this month.

'But I can tell you from all the stuff that we've done as far as searching, looking, taking pictures - I don't feel like it's really possible to happen. He may have fallen. Somebody helped him in the water,' he said.

Strain's mother, Michelle Whiteid, also revealed that Strain texted her only hours before he vanished to tell her he had ordered a rum and coke that 'didn't taste good.'

'Maybe there was something in it that shouldn't have been,' Michelle Whiteid said, explaining that her son told her the drink 'tasted like barbecue'.