Free St. Patrick’s Day Lyft Rides Offered Throughout Greater Washington to Prevent Drunk Driving

Free St. Patrick’s Day Lyft Rides Offered Throughout Greater Washington to Prevent Drunk Driving

NEARLY HALF OF U.S. TRAFFIC DEATHS ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY INVOLVE DRUNK DRIVERS 

Tysons, VA, February 26– Preparing to combat that time of the year when according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) , nearly half  (44%) of U.S. traffic deaths involve drunk drivers,* a local nonprofit organization announced today that free safe rides will be offered to would-be drunk drivers throughout the Washington-metropolitan area during next month’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Offered by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the 2024 St. Patrick’s Day SoberRide® program will be in operation beginning  at 12:00 p.m. Sunday, March 17th (St. Patrick’s Day) and operate until 12:00 a.m. on Monday, March 18th as a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk period.

During this twelve-hour period, area residents 21 and older celebrating with alcohol may download the Lyft app to their phones then enter the SoberRide® code in the app’s ‘ Payment’ tab (under the ‘Add Lyft Pass’ option) to receive their no-cost (up to $15) safe transportation home. WRAP’s 2024 St. Patrick’s Day SoberRide® promo code will be posted at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday March 17th on www.SoberRide.com.

“Nearly half of U.S. traffic fatalities during St. Patrick’s Day involve drunk drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” said Kurt Erickson, WRAP’s President.

During the 2023 St. Patrick’s Day campaign, over 900 (904) persons in the Washington-metropolitan area used WRAP’s SoberRide® program rather than possibly driving home impaired. The charity also offers its SoberRide® program on Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day, Halloween and the winter holidays through and including New Year’s Eve.

“Lyft is dedicated to providing access to reliable and responsible rides, and we’re proud to partner with programs like WRAP to offer Lyft as an alternative to impaired driving,” said Kamillah Wood, Director of Public Policy for Community Safety at Lyft. “Through our Roadway Safety Program and our partnerships with the public, we hope to empower our community with the tools to protect themselves and those around them this holiday season.”

SoberRide® is offered throughout Lyft’s Washington D.C. coverage area which includes all or parts of: the District of Columbia; the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s and towns therein plus the cities of Bowie, College Park, District Heights, Gaithersburg, Glenarden, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Laurel, Mount Ranier, New Carrollton, Rockville, Mount Pleasant and Takoma Park; and the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and towns therein plus the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

Sponsors of WRAP’s 2024 St. Patrick’s Day SoberRide® campaign include the 395 Express Lanes, Anheuser-Busch, Beer  Institute, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, Diageo, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Foundation of Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Giant Food, Glory Days Grill, Lyft, Molson Coors Beverage Company, New Belgium Brewing, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. WRAP’s 2024 Public Partner SoberRide sponsors include the District of Columbia Office of the Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure’s Highway Safety Office, the Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

In addition, a half-dozen of the Washington-metropolitan area’s better-known Irish restaurants have also united to ensure a safe St. Patrick’s Day celebration this year by sponsoring SoberRide® . These dining establishments include: The Dubliner Restaurant & Pub (DC); Ireland’s Four Courts (VA), Kelly’s Irish Times (DC); Martin’s Tavern Est. 1933 (DC); O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub (VA); and Spanky’s Shenanigans (VA).

Since 1991, WRAP’s SoberRide® program has provided 89,222 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.

Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] Washington Regional Program (WRAP) is an award-winning public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington-metropolitan area. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with helping to keep the annual percentage of metro-Washington traffic deaths involving alcohol-impaired driving historically lower than the national average. WRAP, however, may best be known to area residents via the organization’s popular free safe ride service to prevent drunk driving, SoberRide®.

More information about WRAP’s SoberRide® initiative can be found at www.SoberRide.com.

 

*Source:  St. Patrick’s Day 2021 (6:00 am on March 17, 2021 through 5:59 am on March 18, 2021; NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System [FARS]):