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 

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

Requiring that even light drinkers use breathalyzers in their cars is going too far.

 By Sarah Longwell

Last week, the House transportation committee unveiled the details of a six-year, $450 billion highway bill. Buried within is a controversial sentencing requirement for low-level, first-time drunken-driving offenders: ignition interlocks.

These in-car breathalyzers prevent vehicles from starting if a driver’s breath registers above a preset blood-alcohol concentration. Because they are so expensive, intrusive, and prone to technical failures, this penalty has typically been reserved for the most extreme offenders.

If the bill passes in its current form, Mothers Against Drunk Driving will be one step closer to its goal of prohibiting responsible adults from having a glass of wine with dinner before driving home.

The hospitality industry has already been working with traffic-safety advocates to require ignition interlocks for repeat offenders caught with high blood-alcohol concentrations. We’ve succeeded in 27 states. But under the new transportation bill, those states will be penalized if they do not impose the devices on first-time offenders – even those just one sip over the legal limit.

A 120-pound woman can reach the legal limit of 0.08 percent after two 6-ounce glasses of wine in a two-hour period. Under this proposed mandate, if such a woman drives, she could be punished with an interlock device – for behavior that is, according to several studies, no more dangerous than driving while talking on a hands-free cell phone.

Mandating ignition interlocks for all drunken-driving offenders is a one-size-fits-all approach, inflicting the same punishment on that woman and the hardcore abusers who cause the vast majority of alcohol-related fatalities. It eliminates a judge’s ability to treat different offenders differently, and America’s criminal-justice system has a terrible record with mandatory minimum sentences.

Most state legislatures have already made it clear that they favor judicial discretion, rejecting mandates for low-blood-alcohol, first-time offenders, or passing ignition-interlock bills that target high-blood-alcohol, repeat offenders. Their decisions are supported by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics showing that most alcohol-related fatalities involve offenders at more than twice the legal limit.

But, under pressure from MADD, the House is poised to force those legislatures to change their laws. To those who recall the debate over lowering the legal limit from 0.10 to 0.08 percent, it’s a familiar scenario.

In 1998, Congress approved highway-funding sanctions for states that would not lower their limits after MADD insisted that doing so would save thousands of lives. It didn’t: In 2007, the number of alcohol-related fatalities was roughly the same as 10 years earlier.

In 2006, MADD projected that ignition-interlock technology – set to prevent driving at blood-alcohol levels as low as 0.02 percent – could be “standard equipment” for all American vehicles within 10 years. Three years later, we are already on the verge of requiring the devices even for marginal offenders.

If MADD’s latest push goes forward unabated, it won’t be long until your car is forbidding you from driving home after a champagne toast at a wedding or a beer at a baseball game.

When asked SRU Founder Moe Sattar commented on the article and thanked people who made the right choice by not driving drunk.

Article taken from: http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics-new-jersey.html

The number of alcohol-related deaths in New Jersey has dropped significantly from a high of 622 in 1982, to a low of 263 in 2005. The percentage of fatalities that were alcohol related has also dropped steadily, from a high of 59% in 1982, to a low of 35% in 1996 and 2005. In 2006, out of all traffic fatalities, 29% involved a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher.

The table above shows the total number of traffic fatalities (Tot) for the New Jersey, alcohol related fatalities (Alc-Rel) and fatalities in crashes where the highest BAC in the crash was 0.08 or above (0.08+).

All 50 states in the US now apply two statutory offenses to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The first (and original) offense is known either as driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI), or operating while intoxicated/impaired (OWI). This is based upon a police officer’s observations (driving behavior, slurred speech, the results of a roadside sobriety test, etc.)

The second offense is called “illegal per se”, which is driving with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. Since 2002 it has been illegal in all 50 states to drive with a BAC that is 0.08% or higher.

It is important to note that the New Jersey drunk driving statistics, as shown above, include data from individuals who were in an alcohol-related crash, but not driving a motor vehicle at the time. The U.S. Department of Transportation defines alcohol-related deaths as “fatalities that occur in crashes where at least one driver or non-occupant (pedestrian or bicyclist) involved in the crash has a positive Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) value.”

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

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

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Safe Rides Unlimited and its staff greatly appreciates your support.

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

Thank you

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.