Palos Park PD Will Drive You Home If You Can't On New Year's Eve

PALOS PARK, IL — If you'll be ringing in the new year in Palos Park and drink too much to drive home safely, police are offering FREE rides home throughout the night. Officers will pick up revelers at private parties or bars and take people directly home, but will not drop people off at another gathering or establishment.

Rides will be offered from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. Palos Park police will also be available to check on underage people left at home during this time.

Should you find yourself in a situation where you don’t think you can get behind the wheel safely (you don’t have be staggering, even buzzed driving can cause a person to get arrested for DUI or involved in a tragic accident), call Palos Park police at 708-448-2191, or Chief Joe Miller’s cell at 708-259-1035.

Officers will come pick you up and take you home, no questions asked and no lectures. They may even sing along with you if you are inclined to break out into song.

"Before you get behind the wheel of your car after you have been drinking, prevent a potential disaster, and simply call us," the department said in a Facebook post.

Many area police departments have been conducting ongoing holiday DUI patrols and will be adding extra officers on the street on New Year’s Eve, watching for impaired and distracted drivers. Before you head out for a night of partying, make a plan for getting home safely.

If possible, use public transportation on Tuesday night. The CTA will be offering FREE rides on trains and buses from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Dec. 31-Jan. 1. 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Note that the last Metra outbound train to Orland Park will depart Union Station at 11:40 p.m. The Southwest Service will not run on January 1.

If none of these options work for you, be sure to download Uber, Lyft, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's SaferRide app on your phone.