Over 900 Use Local SoberRide Program on St. Patrick’s Day
DC AREA’S DUI PREVENTION EFFORT REMOVES POTENTIAL DRUNK DRIVER FROM AREA ROADWAYS EVERY 47-SECONDS ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Tysons, VA, March 28 – Over 900 (904) persons in the Washington-metropolitan area used the free safe ride service, SoberRide® this St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) as opposed to possibly driving home drunk.
“For its hours of operation this St. Patrick’s Day, this level of ridership translates into SoberRide removing a potential drunk driver from Greater Washington’s roadways every 47-seconds,” said Kurt Erickson, President of the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the organization conducting the region’s SoberRide® effort.
WRAP’s 2023 St. Patrick’s Day SoberRide® campaign began at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2023 and continued until 4:00 a.m. the next day, Saturday, March 18th as a way to keep local roads safe from potentially impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk period. During this twelve-hour period, area residents celebrating with alcohol could download the Lyft app to their phones, then enter the code “SAFESTPATSDC23” in the app’s ‘Promo’ section to receive their no-cost safe ride home. SoberRide® was available to new and existing Lyft users.
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.
The most recent St. Patrick’s Day ridership of 904 users was the second highest for that holiday since SoberRide® began in 1991. WRAP also offers free safe ride services on Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day, Halloween and the winter holidays through and including New Years Eve.
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 towns therein plus the cities of Bowie, College Park, District Heights, Gaithersburg, Glenarden, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Laurel, Mount Ranier, New Carrollton, Rockville, Seat 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 2023 St. Patrick’s Day SoberRide® campaign included the 395 Express Lanes, Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Beer Institute, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Foundation for 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 2023 Public Partner SoberRide® Sponsors include the District of Columbia Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office, Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
In addition, nearly a half-dozen of the Washington-metropolitan area’s better-known Irish restaurants also united to ensure a safe St. Patrick’s Day celebration this year by sponsoring SoberRide®. These dining establishments included: The Dubliner Restaurant & Pub (DC); 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 85,580 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
Having commemorated its 40th year in 2022 after being founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501©(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 keeping the metro-Washington area’s alcohol-related traffic deaths historically lower than the national average.
More information about WRAP’s SoberRideⓇ initiative can be found at www.SoberRide.com.