Free Sober Rides Offered For Extended Holiday Period In DC Region

WASHINGTON, DC — Would-be impaired drivers in the DC region can catch a free, safe ride home for an extended period this holiday season.

The Washington Regional Alcohol Program's Holiday SoberRide program will take place from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. each night starting Dec. 16 through Jan. 1. During that time, residents can get a $15 credit toward their Lyft ride.

The SoberRide program seeks to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during high-risk times like the winter holidays. In December 2021, 461 people used the service, a number WRAP believes was impacted by the COVID-19 omicron variant surge. The last time the program regularly ran in 2019, 1,121 people used the SoberRide program during the winter holidays.

"Nearly half of all U.S. traffic fatalities during Christmas and New Year’s in 2020 involved drunk drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration," said Kurt Erickson, WRAP president, in a statement.

Rriders 21 and older can redeem the SoberRide offer using the Lyft app. Between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. each night, riders can enter the SoberRide code in the Lyft app's promo section. Different promo codes will be posted at 9 p.m. on Dec. 16, 23 and 31 at www.SoberRide.com. The promotion is good one time per rider. Riders will pay for any balance beyond the $15.

The promotion applies to Lyft's DC region coverage area, which includes the District of Columbia, Arlington County, Fairfax County, cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park, parts of Prince William and Loudoun counties, Prince George's County and parts of Montgomery County.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program, a nonprofit celebrating its 40th anniversary, is credited with helping keeping the DC region's alcohol-related traffic deaths lower than the national average. The SoberRide program is also offered on other high-risk holidays for impaired driving: St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day and Halloween. Since 1991, the program has provided 83,678 safe rides home to keep impaired drivers off the roads.

Sponsors of the Holiday SoberRide program are the 395 Express Lanes, Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Beer Institute, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Foundation of 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. Partnering organizations are the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.