Free ride home available for New Year's Eve partyers

Goshen — As adults head out to celebrate New Year’s Eve, they can “do the ride thing” by taking advantage of a program that helps keep local streets safe. Alert Cab, sponsored by Dana Distributors in Goshen, gives adults a free ride home if they’ve had too much to drink at a local bar or restaurant. Bartenders and servers at participating bars and restaurants have a confidential phone number they can use to request a free cab ride for adults who want to get home safely at the end of the evening. In this way, Alert Cab keeps drunk drivers off the road, and offers bar and restaurant owners a way to show they care about customers’ safety. “We want all adults who choose to drink, regardless of the occasion, to act responsibly,” said Tom Kennedy, director of sales at Dana Distributors. “That means if you include alcohol in your celebrations, please plan ahead and arrange to use alternate transportation, such as Alert Cab, or a designated driver to get home safely.” Dana Distributors is joining restaurants and taverns around the Hudson Valley in sponsoring Alert Cab. Kennedy said that, thanks in part to programs like Alert Cab, along with strong law enforcement and community-based alcohol education programs, drunk-driving fatalities have declined 44 percent since 1982, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Here in New York, drunk-driving fatalities have declined 62 percent since 1982, he said. “This is quite a feat as the number of vehicle miles traveled increased by 87 percent, the number of registered vehicles increased by 55 percent as well as an increase of licensed drivers by 39 percent,” he said.