Despite the rather disparaging Halloween drunken driving statistics, The Eagle staff is pleased to hear that District officials, working with the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, still maintain SoberRide, a program established in 1993 that provides intoxicated people 21 years old and up free taxi rides home, provided the trips cost less than $50.
Funded by public tax dollars and private donations, SoberRide has ensured the safe transportation of 38,000 D.C. area residents, the WRAP Web site reports. Operating during holidays of heightened celebration, SoberRide intends to serve costume-clad partygoers during this year's Halloween celebrations, running from Wednesday night to early Thursday morning.
However, as beneficial as a program that reduces the possibility of drunken driving is, SoberRide has two major flaws that need to be addressed. First, it is only available to D.C. residents over 21. Granted, underage partiers ought to shy away from alcohol and abide by the law, but to pretend that underage drinkers are no more a concern than their legal counterparts is dangerous. If anything, students who lack a viable way home are most prone to making poor decisions. SoberRide should remember that drunken driving is not a problem confined to age and expand its program as soon as it can.
More disturbing is how the program dispatches cabs. As the Web site and The Eagle article specify, only residents with D.C., Virginia and Maryland area codes are eligible for the free ride. In other words, college students who hail from outside of the District, even those legally able to consume alcohol, cannot use the program with their cell phones and are instead relegated to walking back, praying for a Metro car or making a poor decision to drive back themselves. Regardless, these students aren't exactly safe from harm.
In both cases, funding is a major constraint. It's difficult to make a case for spending regional tax dollars on out-of-state students, and providing rides to underage drinkers may be politically controversial. But WRAP, among other organizations, needs to remember that drunken driving accidents are not exclusive to age or location. Partiers who call another part of the country home can certainly contribute to the disparaging statistics WRAP seeks to address. Perhaps the free taxi program should be equally universal.
