CONTACT: Kurt Gregory Erickson
President
PHONE: W. 703-893-0461
MOBILE. 703-625-2303
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2014
FREE HALLOWEEN CAB RIDES
OFFERED IN WASHINGTON-METRO AREA
TO THWART DRUNK DRIVING
NEARLY HALF OF ALL HALLOWEEN TRAFFIC
DEATHS IN U.S. CAUSED BY DRUNK DRIVERS
Washington, DC, October 15 – As a means of making the Washington-metropolitan
area’s roadways a little less frightening this Halloween, free cab rides will be offered to
would-be drunk drivers throughout the Washington-metropolitan area on the evening
of Friday, October 31st
.
Offered by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the
Halloween SoberRide® program will be in operation at 10:00 pm on Friday, October 31st and
operate until 4:00 am on Saturday, November 1st
, as a way to keep local roads safe from
impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk, holiday period.
During this six-hour period, area residents ages 21 and older celebrating with alcohol
may call the toll-free SoberRide® phone number 1-800-200-TAXI and be afforded a no-cost
(up to a $30 fare), safe way home. AT&T wireless customers can dial #WRAP for the same
service.
Local taxicab companies throughout the Washington-metropolitan area provide this
no-cost service to local residents age 21 and older who otherwise may attempt to drive home
after drinking.
SoberRide® is 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, (eastern) Loudoun and Prince William.
“The scary fact is that nearly half (48%*) of all U.S. traffic deaths occurring
during Halloween are caused by drunk drivers,” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, WRAP’s
President. Sponsors of this year’s Halloween SoberRide® offering include: AAA Mid-Atlantic,
Anheuser-Busch, Diageo, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers,
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Giant Food,
MillerCoors, Red Top Cab of Arlington, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington,
Volkswagen Group of America and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers
Association.
Participating taxicab companies include: Alexandria Yellow Cab; Barwood; Fairfax
Yellow Cab; Loudoun Yellow Cab; Northern Virginia Checker Cab; Red Top Cab; Silver Cab
of Prince George’s County; Yellow Cab of D.C.; and Yellow Cab of Prince William County.
Last Halloween’s (2013) SoberRide® program provided 304 free cab rides home to
would-be drunk drivers in the Washington-metropolitan area.
Since 1993, WRAP’s SoberRide® program has provided 60,724 free cab rides home to
would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] Washington Regional Alcohol Program
(www.wrap.org) 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
keeping the metro-Washington area’s alcohol-related traffic deaths consistently lower than
the national average.
More information about WRAP’s SoberRide® initiative can be found at
www.soberride.com.
*Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, see:
http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/CAMPAIGNS/Drunk+Driving/Buzzed+Driving+is+Drunk+Driving/Halloween/2014+Talking+Points
#
http://www.wrap.org/pdfs/2014sr-halloween-pr-regl-oct15a.pdf
