FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            CONTACT:    Karla Weikal
12292009                                                                                            862-8235 (o)

                                                                                                           

NUMBER TO REMEMBER THIS NEW YEAR’S EVE:  862-RIDE
Davidson County Sheriff’s Office employee volunteers provide free sober rides on New Year’s Eve

 

           Planning to go to the Broadway Bash this New Year’s Eve or another party?  If your plans include drinking – don’t drive.  Call for a sober ride at 615-862-RIDE (7433).

            “For the 26th  year now, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office will offer free, safe, and sober rides home to those who have had too much to drink – all you have to do is call 862-RIDE.  With so many events going on downtown, our service is needed now more than ever.  It has become a Nashville tradition that we are proud to continue it,” Sheriff Daron Hall said.

 

The Sober Ride bus will be out in full force this New Year's Eve!

Because of the large concentration of people in the downtown area, Sober Ride “bus stops” will be located at Second Avenue and Commerce as well as Third and Broadway.  From there, people will be taken by passenger bus to a staging area at LP Field, placed in smaller vehicles, and then taken to their destination.             “If you are near Second Avenue, you don’t even have to call the number.  Just go to one of the bus stops and you will get a ride from there.  We have found this is the most efficient way of getting people out of the congested downtown area,” Hall said.               All drivers are sheriff’s office employees and many of the nearly 150 volunteers have made Sober Ride their New Year’s Eve tradition.  There are also those who work behind the scenes answering phones, mapping pick-up locations, dispatching drivers, and overseeing operations.  Last year, over 1,500 people were taken home.              Drivers will take people home or to a hotel, not to another party or bar, and serves Davidson County.  No reservations allowed.

            “The most important decision someone will make this holiday – or any holiday for that matter – is to not drink and drive.  I encourage anyone who has had one too many to call Sober Ride and arrive home safely,” Hall added.

            Hall also suggests placing the number in cell phones well before the big night.  For a free, safe, and sober ride home this New Year’s Eve, call 615-862-RIDE (7433).  Operating hours are from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

            This project is funded in part under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Governor’s Highway Safety Office, and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

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