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No need to rely on your lucky shamrock to get home safely on Thursday, March 17, the Santa Fe County DWI Program is offering the $5 Cab Ride Home on St. Patrick’s Day.  The subsidized cab will run on Thursday from 5:30 p.m. - 2 a.m. and again on Friday and Saturday night as part of the regular service schedule. Call 505-438-0000 for a Cab Ride Home. No amount of luck can save you from a drunk-driving arrest or crash, but a Cab Ride Home can improve your odds.  

Even if you don’t have plans yet, plan to drive sober or designate someone else to do so for you. Save the Cab Ride Home number in your phone (438-0000) so you always have a way home other than driving buzzed.

WHEN YOU MAKE PLANS: A sober driver is an essential part of any party plan. Once you know where you’ll celebrate, decide whether you’re drinking or driving. You can only choose one.

ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY: Before you take your first sip of green beer, leave your keys at home or give them to a friend. If you’re the designated driver, don’t drink. Enjoy non-alcoholic beverages. Only drive sober or ride with a sober driver.

EVERY DAY: If you’re impaired, call for a Cab Ride Home, call a sober friend or family member, to get home safely. If you know people who are about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, during the 2014 St. Patrick’s Day holiday period (6 p.m. March 16 to 5:59 a.m. March 18), more than a quarter (28%) of all motor vehicle crash fatalities involved drunk drivers. The early hours of March 18 didn’t fare much better: between midnight and 5:59 a.m., nearly half of all crash fatalities involved drunk drivers. In fact, from 2010 to 2014, almost three-fourths of the drunk-driving fatalities during this holiday period involved drivers who had Blood Alcohol Content well above the .08 limit, with 266 drunk-driving fatalities total.                                                                                                                                                  

Drunk driving has fatal consequences. If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local police immediately, call 9-1-1 or dial #DWI (#394). You could save a life.