Recently a study was conducted to see if people who use a FREE safe ride drank more.  We at safe rides believe that offereing FREE safe rides is not the answer since it leave people with more money and a greater incentive to start abusing alcohol.  The key is to find the right balance between making the rides as cost effective as possible, while still allowing people to enjoy the night out. below is the article that was found on ScienceDirect.com

Wayne M. Harding^{, , a, b}, Barry D. Caudill^c, Brent A. Moore^c and Kevin C. Frissell^c 

A 23-year-old Colonia man wept uncontrollably in court this afternoon as his attorney told a judge the young man was not guilty of causing the alleged drunk-driving crash that killed a Perth Amboy police officer and injured two passengers last week. Tears streamed down Sean McGuirk’s cheeks as he stood before a judge in the Middlesex County Courthouse to face charges including vehicular homicide in the death of Officer Thomas Raji, 31.

McGuirk dabbed at his eyes, his face twisted in anguish, as Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch recounted the criminal charges. Raji’s widow, Marisol ”Mimi” Raji, a Perth Amboy police officer who is several months pregnant with the couple’s first child, watched intently from the front row of the fifth-floor courtroom. More than 30 Perth Amboy police officers accompanied the widow to the brief hearing, packing one side of the courtroom.

Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz continued McGuirk’s bail at $100,000, but suspended his driving privileges until the charges are resolved. After the hearing, McGuirk, the brother of a Woodbridge police officer, slumped in a seat and tried to compose himself. His attorney, David Shivas, declined to comment.  If convicted, McGuirk faces as much as 20 years in prison. He was released on bail after being charged with killing Raji and injuring Officer Matthew Mercurio and their passenger, Gregory Efford, a prisoner who was being held on a warrant from Rahway. Raji, a police officer for 10 years, and Mercurio were transporting Efford to the Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick about 3:45 a.m. Friday when their cruiser, a 2005 Crown Victoria, was broadsided by a Nissan Altima crossing Route 1 at Green Street in Woodbridge. The crash site is about a half-mile from the Woodbridge Center mall.  Raji, who was driving, was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Mercurio, 42, suffered broken ribs. The prisoner suffered minor injuries, authorities said.  In addition to homicide and assault, McGuirk was charged with drunk-driving, reckless driving, and running two red lights at the intersection. The charges were filed after blood-alcohol testing gave a reading of 0.107 percent, authorities said. The legal limit is 0.08.  Raji was the first Perth Amboy officer to be killed in the line of duty, city officials said. A Perth Amboy native, he joined the force in 1999. He was the second police officer to die in a traffic accident in Middlesex County in 10 days. North Brunswick Lt. Christopher Zerby, 41, was killed on Route 130 in the township on Aug. 12. Zerby had been a passenger in a rented Dodge Viper sports car driven by a fellow officer. The vehicle veered off the highway just south of Route 1.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — A Colonia man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing a Perth Amboy police officer in August in an alcohol-fueled crash after he ran two red lights on Route 1 in Woodbridge.

Sean McGuirk, 24, will face eight years in prison, under a plea agreement struck with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
He pleaded guilty in Superior Court, New Brunswick, to vehicular homicide in the death of Officer Thomas Raji, two counts of assault by auto for injuring another officer and a man being taken to Middlesex County jail and driving while intoxicated. Charges of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault will be dropped at sentencing, under the agreement.  McGuirk wiped his reddened eyes with a tissue through the proceeding in Judge Frederick DeVesa’s courtroom and fought emotion throughout the proceeding. The courtroom was packed, mostly with the family members of Raji’s and other city police officers.

The accident occurred early Aug. 22, 2008, after McGuirk spent four hours drinking at Big Shots on Route 1. “When I left Big Shots, I made a poor decision to get in the car,” McGuirk told DeVesa. “I struck a vehicle that I later found out was a police vehicle.” McGuirk will have to serve about six years and nine months before becoming eligible for parole. He remains free on bail. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 17.
McGuirk admitted he had five or six drinks and was drinking inside Big Shots after the Route 1 bar was suppose to close. He drove a 2008 Nissan Altima through two red traffic lights at the intersection of Route 1 and Green Street in Woodbridge about 3:30 a.m. and broadsided Raji’s marked patrol car, he acknowledged.Raji, who was at the wheel, was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick about an hour later. The early-morning accident also injured Perth Amboy patrolman Matthew Mercurio, 43, and a man being taken to Middlesex County Jail, Gregory Efford, 37. McGuirk had a blood-alcohol content of .107 percent when checked after the accident, but was presumed to be .139 at the time of the crash, Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch said in court. Raji, 31, a 10-year veteran of the Perth Amboy police force, was the first city officer to die in the line of duty. He was the brother-in-law of Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez Jr. and the son-in-law of Pedro Jimenez, president of the Perth Amboy city council.
Raji’s wife, Marisol, who was 12 weeks pregnant when her husband died, expressed dissatisfaction with the plea deal. “I would like to see him get life,” she said. “”He took my husband’s life and he should get the same. When he gets out of jail he’ll be younger than my husband when he took his life. I can’t get Tommy back.” Also a Perth Amboy police officer, she said she would retire from the force so she can care for her child, Mikayla, who was born March 8. “She looks just like her father, which is what I prayed for,” she said.

 
Ken Serrano: 732-565-7212; kserrano@MyCentralJersey.com

Safe Rides Unlimited and Bliss have had a long partnership even before the launch of the black card to prevent people from drinking and driving.  Bliss formerly known as Joeys in clifton was the first venue to join Safe Rides over 5 years ago.  Since then bliss management and SRU have worked together to come up with new and effective ways to offer safe rides to people.  This Black Card offer is just another proof that Bliss and SRU are dedicated to achieving a goal of transforming the way people enjoy night life.

All Bliss Black Card holders will receive an additional 5% off their donation to safe rides when they utilize a safe ride.  All the card holders need to do is mention at time of reserving a safe ride that they are a card holder and show the card to the driver at time of pickup to receive the discount.

For more details please call us @ 888.656.SAFE

Moe Sattar Founder of Safe Rides Unlimited said “All the messaging campaigns are great but they don’t really give us an actual alternative.”  He also stated that “college students and general public are more than accepting of a real solutions.  The proof of such a statement is in the phone calls that come in by the hundreds from people praising our services and making safe ride reservations.”

The bottom line in this whole thing is this.  Drunk driving can be reduced to nearly non existent if advertisers realize that instead of wasting money on messages, lets provide people with a choice.  A choice that would allow people to make the right decision.  A choice that will be a lot more effective in reducing alcohol industry liabilities.  A choice that will be profitable to all parties involved from the users to the providers. A choice that will make people responsible for their actions instead of blaming them on lack of alternatives. Safe Rides Unlimited is a testament to such a choice.

Lets allow our minds to become creative so we can get away from talking and start taking action.  Lets explore options and with that we will have made the greatest change in the old mentality.  A Mentality that did not allow you to even think about any available alternatives to a mentality that knows that we can be safe and have fun by simply using Safe Rides Unlimited.

Mr. Sattar stated he is extremely pleased with the prospects of partnering with the two sites.  He also said that together SRU and its partners will make nightlife information streamlined for the public.  Now people will have the ability to interact directly with the people that run their favorite venues.

Specific details of the partnership were not disclosed but Mr. Sattar assured the details will be made available in the near future.  So far we know that favbars.com is powering the new venue system on Safe Rides Unlimited website.

We look forward to see what comes out of this seemingly excellent partnership. Stay tuned…

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/spas-sport/9097/safety-first

Safe Rides Unlimited and its staff greatly appreciates your support.

http://www.petitiononline.com/SRUSRU/petition.html

Thank you

On Friday Aug 22, 2008 Safe Rides Unlimited founder/president Amanat Moe Sattar informed that Safe Rides Unlimited has entered into contract with Cablevision subsidiary Rainbow Advertisments. The purpose of this contract is to bring the message to the masses by conducting a year long tv ad campaign. According to Mr. Sattar SRU is entering this contract because of tremendous success of the program and its ability to serve even more users every week. He hopes this campaign will help spread the message of a real available alternative to drunk driving faster and to a larger audience. This tv ad campaign will air over 50 ads per week starting with Northern NJ. Networks that will air ads include MTV, VH1, E, FX, Comedy Central and a few other popular channels. Mr. Sattar says he is very optimistic about the results from this campaign.

SRU currently provides over 500 people with safe ride services. Thats over 500 people that utilize the life saving roundtrip safe rides, pay no cover charges at clubs and don’t wait on any lines. According to Mr. Sattar, SRU safe rides require a per person donation of usually what most clubs charge for cover. In simpler words SRU rides are practically free if you consider that you would have to pay cover charge and/or wait on lines if you did not use SRU safe rides, not to mention SRU helps avoid all the other hassels that come along with driving if your going for a night on the town.

The idea that people can now get round trip luxury safe rides that cost normally as much as what someone would pay for cover charge at club. This makes the ride practically free since SRU users do not have to pay the covers or wait onlines at SRU member venues.

SRU’s initial obstacles were due to the fact most individuals could not believe they can prevent themselves from driving drunk and save money at the same time. It was hard to believe it can be so much fun to get the VIP experience as a reward for making the right choice. SRU utilized the support of its member venues to help spread the message. According to Amanat Moe Sattar Safe Rides Unlimited Founder/President; SRU would not be successful if they did not receive support from venue owners and individuals like Joe Barcelona (owner of Bliss formerly known as Joey’s) Sergio Tiggs and Tommy D who offered their guidance and help bring the program to the masses.

Today SRU is proud to say that its user base has grown to numbers that exceed all expections for a program just introduced to the general public. The results from pilot program were good but no one expected to providing over 500 safe rides a week as soon as they launched. Safe Rides Unlimited is looking forward to having an amazing and successful second half of the year.