Although I am not huge fan of AAA, they are offering a great service for New Years Eve. The following is what they say on their website, which you can connect with here.
The Automobile Club of Southern California is offering its free Tipsy
Tow service during the New Year’s Eve holiday for the 15th consecutive
year. The community service is available from 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 30,
to 6 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1, to help remove drinking drivers from the
road. Tipsy Tow is available in the 13 Southern California counties
served by the Auto Club.
Motorists, bartenders, restaurant managers, party hosts or passengers
of a drinking driver may call 1-800-400-4AAA for a free tow home of
up to seven miles. Callers simply tell the Auto Club operators, “I need a
Tipsy Tow,” to receive the free tow and ride home. A regular Auto
Club-contracted roadside service truck will be dispatched. The Auto
Club’s free service is unique in that it transports both the driver and their
vehicle.
Drinking drivers frequently don’t plan for other ways to get home
because they are concerned about retrieving their vehicle the next day.
They cite taxi costs and inconvenience as reasons they don’t use alternate
transportation, according to the Auto Club.
Callers need to keep in mind that the service excludes rides
for passengers, is restricted to a one-way, one-time ride for the
driverand the destination is limited to the driver’s residence. Reservations
are not accepted. For rides farther than seven miles, drivers can expect
to pay the rate charged by the tow truck contractor.
“Drivers should be aware of the high crash risk from drinking and
driving associated with holidays and we encourage them not to get behind the
wheel if they’ve been drinking,” said the Auto Club’s senior researcher Steve
Bloch.
New Year’s Eve is a traditional time for family gatherings, parties,
restaurant outings and activities that contribute to a more relaxed atmosphere
and more opportunities for drinking alcohol, according to Bloch.
“It only takes one or two drinks to slow physical and mental skills
that affect vision, steering, braking judgment, and reaction time,” he
said. “Drivers should be aware that the California Highway Patrol and law
enforcement agencies use sobriety checkpoints and extra patrols to look for
drinking drivers during the holiday.”
California arrests large numbers of DUI offenders every year, enough
to fill LA Memorial Coliseum twice. In 2010 (latest data available)
198,249 drivers were arrested for the offense. “Motorists need to be
aware that many enforcement agencies are targeting drinking drivers and as a
result, arrests for DUI in the state have increased by 11 percent since 2001,”
according to Bloch. “The toll from drinking and driving in California is
enormous,” Bloch added. “In 2009, the latest data available, more than
27,000 persons were killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes.”
A recent AAA report found that 10 percent of motorists admit to
driving when they thought their blood alcohol content was above the legal
limit. “This is entirely preventable,” said Bloch.
People convicted of driving under the influence could lose many of the
important things in their lives, such as family, job, dignity and money.
The Auto Club estimates that a first time DUI conviction in California can cost
approximately $12,176 or more in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees and
increased insurance costs.
Current laws, enforcement, public awareness, and education efforts by
public service-oriented organizations, including the Auto Club, have
contributed to the decline in the number of alcohol-related fatalities during
the past 13 years. The Auto Club provides the Tipsy Tow service and free
publications as part of its “You Drink. You Drive. You Lose.”
public awareness campaign.
The Auto Club advises that motorists can keep themselves and others
safe and can avoid DUI arrests by keeping these safety tips in mind:
•
At social events, designate non-drinking drivers who can get everyone
home safely.
•
Call a friend or family member for a ride home if you have been
drinking.
•
Keep a cab company telephone number in your wallet so you can call for
a ride home.
• As a party host, offer a variety of non-alcoholic drink alternatives
and provide a gift to guests who volunteer to be designated drivers.
•
Take the car keys away from friends and relatives who have had too
much to drink.
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