(Updated, 10/29/21, 10:10 a.m.) There will be free Lyft rides in Arlington and across the region this Halloween weekend.
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is again partnering with the rideshare company for the SoberRide program to provide free rides this upcoming Saturday (Oct. 30) night to prevent drunk and impaired driving.
Starting at 10 p.m., residents ages 21 and older will be able to order a Lyft ride up to $15 using a promo code that will be posted on SoberRide’s website. The rides will be available for the first 1,500 people who enter the code and until 4 a.m. the next day.
The service is being provided as “a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk holiday,” according to a press release.
Between 2015 and 2019, there were 126 drunk-driving fatalities nationwide on Halloween night, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That accounts for more than a third of all motor vehicles fatalities on Halloween night. Sixty-two percent of those deaths were adults between the ages of 21 and 34.
According to @NHTSAgov, between 2015 & 2019, there were 126 drunk-driving fatalities on Halloween night nationwide. That’s why we're reminding the community that nothing is scarier on Halloween night than an impaired driver. If you plan to drink, ensure you have a sober ride home pic.twitter.com/UKmbcqJgvG
— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) October 27, 2021
In 2019, more than 1,200 people in the D.C. area utilized SoberRide and got a free ride during the Halloween weekend (the program was canceled last year due to the pandemic).
Additionally, the Arlington County Police Department event that was previously scheduled for Friday night (Oct. 29), has been “postponed” due to inclement weather.
POSTPONED: The community outreach event has been postponed due to inclement weather in the forecast for Friday, 10/29. Community members are encouraged to subscribe to Police News and Updates for information on future events and engagement opportunities. https://t.co/LSrhXCVHTU
— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) October 28, 2021
The interactive anti-drunk driving event” was a partnership between Arlington County Police Department and WRAP for an “at the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Hudson Street at 8 p.m.
“The event includes an interactive component to highlight the impact alcohol has on motor skills, a pledge to take a sober ride home and distribution of educational materials,” ACPD spokesperson Ashley Savage said.
Representatives from WRAP were also going to be there prompting the message that “buzzed driving is drunk driving.”
“All drunk driving incidents are 100-percent preventable, WRAP’s teaming-up with the Arlington County Police Department to highlight the impact alcohol can have on motor skills including driving is prevention-defined,” WRAP President Kurt Gregory Erickson said. “The goals of this week’s collaborative anti-drunk driving event are to showcase said impact, convince Halloween celebrants to plan ahead as to how they’ll safely get home at the end of an evening when alcohol was involved and to increase awareness of alternatives to drunk driving like WRAP’s Halloween SoberRide campaign.”
Over the last six years — 2015 to 2020 — there have been 14 total crashes in Arlington on Halloween night, with four being alcohol-related, according to ACPD. During that time there have been eight driving under the influence (DUI) arrests on Halloween.
“The Arlington County Police Department is reminding the community that nothing is scarier on Halloween night than an impaired driver,” said the department.