American flags line Commonwealth Avenue (Photo: Chris Newsham)
The Washington-metropolitan area’s SoberRide program provided 389 free cab rides home to would-be drunk drivers this Independence Day. The local program removed a would-be drunk driver every 74 seconds. SoberRide began yesterday at 10 p.m. and ended at 6 a.m. today the traditionally high-risk holiday.
“For SoberRide’s hours of operation this Independence Day, this level of ridership translates into the removal of a would-be drunk driver from Greater Washington’s roadways every 74-seconds,” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, WRAP’s President.
The level of last night’s SoberRide use represents a 17.52% increase in SoberRide ridership over last year. During SoberRide’s eight-hour period this Independence Day, area residents celebrating with alcohol could call the toll-free SoberRide phone number 1–800–200–TAXI and be afforded a no-cost (up to a $ 50 fare), safe way home.
SoberRide was offered in the: District of Columbia; throughout the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s; and throughout the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William. Sponsors of this year’s Independence Day SoberRide offering included AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, Diageo, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation, ExxonMobil, GEICO, Red Top Cab of Arlington and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. In addition, a recently successful fundraising campaign to ensure the charity-run program included contributions from the Beer Institute, Capitol Outdoor, GEICO, MillerCoors, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, The Century Council and Washington Wholesalers.
Founded in 1982, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program is an award-winning public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with keeping the metro-Washington area’s alcohol-related traffic deaths consistently lower than the national average. Since 1993, WRAP’s SoberRide program has provided 48,727 free cab rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.