Free Sober Rides Offered For St. Patrick's Day In DC Region

WASHINGTON, DC — St. Patrick's Day celebrations can end with a free ride home as part of a DC area program to keep impaired drivers off the roads.

The Washington Regional Alcohol Program's 2023 St. Patrick’s SoberRide program is planned between 4 p.m. Friday, March 17 and 4 a.m. on Saturday, March 18. Because the holiday is considered a high-risk time for intoxicated driving, the program will offer a Lyft ride up to $15.

"Nearly half of U.S. traffic fatalities during St. Patrick’s Day involve drunk drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration," said Kurt Erickson, WRAP’s president, in a statement.

During the holiday, residents 21 and older can enter the SoberRide code in the Lyft app's promo section to receive the $15 credit. The promo code will be posted at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 17 at www.SoberRide.com.

The SoberRide program is good in Lyft’s Washington D.C. 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, Charles County, St. Mary's County, and parts of Montgomery County.

The nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022, is credited with helping keeping the DC region's alcohol-related traffic deaths lower than the national average. During the 2022, St. Patrick's Day holiday, 482 people used the SoberRide program. The program is offered on other high-risk holidays for intoxicated driving: Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day, Halloween and the winter holidays through New Year’s Eve.

"Lyft is dedicated to providing access to reliable and responsible rides, and we’re proud to partner with programs like WRAP to offer Lyft as an alternative to impaired driving," said Kamillah Wood, the director of public policy for community safety at Lyft. "Through our Roadway Safety Program and our partnerships with the public, we hope to empower our community with the tools to protect themselves and those around them this holiday season."

Among the sponsors of the SoberRide program are some of the DC region's Irish restaurants, including Arlington's O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub, Leesburg's Spanky’s Shenanigans and DC's The Dubliner Restaurant & Pub, Kelly’s Irish Times and Martin’s Tavern.

Other sponsors include 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 for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Giant Food, Glory Days Grill, Lyft, Molson Coors Beverage Company, New Belgium Brewing, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. SoberRide public partners are the District of Columbia Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office, Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.