D.C. AREA’S ANTI-DUI EFFORT REMOVING A POTENTIAL DRUNK DRIVER FROM AREA ROADWAYS NEARLY EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OVER THE WEEKEND
Washington, D.C., May 10– Nearly 800 (792) persons in the Washington-metropolitan area used the free safe ride service, SoberRide®, this Cinco de Mayo as opposed to possibly driving home drunk.
“For its hours of operation this Cinco de Mayo, this level of ridership translates into SoberRide removing a potential drunk driver from Greater Washington’s roadways nearly every single minute (54-seconds),” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, President of the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program, the organization conducting the region’s SoberRide® effort.
WRAP’s 2019 Cinco de Mayo SoberRide® campaign began at 4:00 pm on Sunday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo) and continued until 4:00 am, the next day, on Monday, May 6th, 2019 as a way to keep local roads safe from potentially impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk holiday. During this 12-hour period, area residents celebrating with alcohol could download Lyft to their phones, then enter the code CINCODC19 in the app’s “Promo” section to receive their no cost (up to $ 15) safe transportation home while supplies lasted. SoberRide was available to both new and existing Lyft users.
(In 2017, WRAP announced a partnership with the ridesharing service Lyft to provide WRAP’s SoberRide® service in the Washington-metropolitan area. SoberRide®, the popular free safe ride service to prevent drunk driving, is solely available via the Lyft mobile app ridesharing platform.)
Since partnering with Lyft, WRAP reports a more than tripling of its annual SoberRide® ridership. Last weekend’s ridership was the second highest ever for the Cinco de Mayo holiday since WRAP first offered its SoberRide on Cinco de Mayo in 2015. The charity also offers its SoberRide® program on St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day, Halloween and the winter holidays through and including New Year’s Eve.
Lyft provided SoberRide® trips throughout the Washington-metropolitan area to local residents age 21 and older who otherwise may have attempted to drive home after drinking.
SoberRide® was 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 the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.
Sponsors of this year’s Cinco de Mayo SoberRide® campaign include the 395 Express Lanes, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Anheuser-Busch, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Giant Food, Glory Days Grill, Lyft, MillerCoors, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association.
Since 1991, WRAP’s SoberRide® program has provided 76,987 free safe rides home to potential drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is a coalition of diverse interests using effective education, innovative programs and targeted advocacy to end alcohol-impaired driving and underage drinking in the Washington, DC metro area. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with historically keeping the metro-Washington area’s alcohol-impaired traffic deaths lower than the national average.
More information about WRAP’s SoberRide® initiative can be found at www.soberride.com.