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This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Free, safe rides will be offered to would-be drunk drivers throughout the Washington-metropolitan area on Cinco de Mayo, Wednesday, May 5.
Offered by the nonprofit sobWashington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the 2021 Cinco de Mayo SoberRide program will be in operation beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday through 2 a.m. Thursday, May 6.
“While we’re all safer at home, we are also a public safety organization which regularly looks to mitigate risk,” said Kurt Erickson, WRAP’s president. “We therefore urge all Greater Washington residents to respect public health restrictions this Cinco de Mayo. However, if persons do venture out and alcohol is involved, we are all benefited from the safety net role which the region’s SoberRide program plays to remove drunk drivers from area roadways.”
During SoberRide’s hours of operation this Cinco de Mayo, area resident’s age 21 and older celebrating with alcohol may download the Lyft app to their phones, then enter a SoberRide code in the app’s “Promo” section to receive their no-cost (up to $15) safe transportation home. The Cinco de Mayo SoberRide promo code will be posted at 3 p.m. on May 5 on www.SoberRide.com.
Over a-third of U.S. traffic fatalities during Cinco de Mayo involve drunk drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
During the 2019 Cinco de Mayo period (COVID-19 prevented last year’s offering), 792 people in the Washington-metropolitan area used WRAP’s SoberRide program rather than possibly driving home impaired. The charity also offers its SoberRide program on St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day, Halloween and the winter holidays.
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 WRAP’s 2021 Cinco de Mayo SoberRide® campaign include the 395 Express Lanes, Anheuser-Busch, 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, Kendall-Jackson, Lyft, Molson Coors Beverage Company, New Belgium Brewing, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. In addition, WRAP’s 2021 Public Partner SoberRide® Sponsors include the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
Since 1991, WRAP’s SoberRide program has provided 80,190 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
