Preparing to combat that time of year when, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly half (45 percent) of all U.S. traffic deaths involve drunk drivers, free Halloween Lyft rides will be offered to deter impaired driving throughout Northern Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Offered by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the 2017 Halloween SoberRide program will be in operation beginning at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 and continue until 4 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017 as a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk holiday.
During this six-hour period, area residents age 21 and older celebrating with alcohol may download Lyft to their phones, then enter the code DCHALLOWEEN in the app's “Promo” section to receive their no cost (up to $15) safe transportation home. The SoberRide code is valid for the first 1,500 Lyft users who enter the code.
The charity also offers its SoberRide program on St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day and during the winter holidays – this year starting on Dec. 15, 2017 and operating through and including New Year’s Eve.
In March 2017, WRAP announced a partnership with the ridesharing service Lyft to provide WRAP’s SoberRide service in the Washington-metropolitan area through 2017. SoberRide, the popular free safe ride service to prevent drunk driving, will now be solely available via the Lyft mobile app ridesharing platform.
“In 2015 and according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 45-percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities during Halloween involved drunk drivers,” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, WRAP’s President. “Compounding matters, 21-to-35 year-olds account for nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of U.S. traffic deaths on Halloween night 2015.”
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 the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.
Sponsors of this year’s Halloween SoberRide campaign include the 395 Express Lanes, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Anheuser-Busch, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, Diageo, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Giant Food, Glory Days Grill, Lyft, MillerCoors, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, Volkswagen Group of America and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association.
Since 1993, WRAP’s SoberRide program has provided 67,991 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
More information about WRAP’s SoberRide initiative can be found at www.soberride.com.