SOURCE: wrap.org
CONTACT: Kurt Gregory Erickson
President
PHONE: W. 703-893-0461
CELL. 703-625-2303
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2015
INAUGURAL CINCO DE MAYO
SOBERRRIDE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO DETER DUI IN GREATER WASHINGTON
OVER 40% OF U.S. HIGHWAY DEATHS ON CINCO DE MAYO INVOLVE DRUNK DRIVERS
Washington, D.C., April 20 – Preparing to combat that time of year when, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 41-percent of all U.S. traffic deaths involve drunk drivers*, free cab rides will be offered to wouldbe drunk drivers throughout the Washington-metropolitan area on the Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo (May 5th).
Offered by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the inaugural, 2015 Cinco de Mayo SoberRide® program will be in operation beginning at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, May 5th and continue until 4:00 am on Wednesday, May 6th as a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk holiday.
During this 12-hour period, area residents celebrating with alcohol may call the toll-free SoberRide phone number 1–800–200–TAXI (8294) 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 have attempted to drive home after drinking.
“According to government figures, more than four-out-of-ten U.S. highway deaths on Cinco de Mayo involve drunk drivers,” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, WRAP’s President. “Worse, over a fifth of these drivers involved in fatal crashes had blood alcohol concentration levels of .15 or higher.”
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.
WRAP’s Cinco de Mayo campaign effort is the charity’s first new holiday SoberRide offering in nearly two decades. The organization offers its SoberRide program on St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day, Halloween and the winter holidays leading up to and including New Year’s Eve.
Sponsors of this year’s Cinco de Mayo SoberRide campaign include AAA MidAtlantic, Anheuser-Busch, Constellation Brands, 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.
Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] 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 62,372 free cab rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
For more information, visit www.soberride.com.
*Source: NHTSA (6 pm May 4, 2013 to 5:59 am May 6, 2013):
http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/CAMPAIGNS/Drunk+Driving/Buzzed+Driving+is+Drunk+Driving/Cinco+de+Mayo/2015+Fact+Sheet
http://www.wrap.org/pdfs/2015sr-cinco-pr-regl-1.pdf
