The question of how you’re getting home from a night celebrating Independence Day just got easier: The 757 Sober Ride program will offer free or reduced rides with Lyft from Monday to Wednesday morning.
Users in all cities on the Peninsula and in South Hampton Roads can enter a promo code in their Lyft app, starting at 4 p.m. Monday and ending at 4 a.m. Wednesday, that is good for one trip per person. The promo code will give them $15 off of any trip that either begins or ends within a geofenced area encompassing Hampton Roads, and rides cheaper than that amount will be free.
The promo code will be posted at 3 p.m. Monday at this link: https://www.drivesafehr.org/757-sober-ride/. To enter the promo code, download the Lyft app and click on the “payment” tab under the “Add Lyft Pass” option. There are a limited number of promo code claims that can be made, according to a spokesperson for Drive Safe Hampton Roads, the sponsor of the program.
757 Sober Ride started with Cinco De Mayo in 2022, and has seen a significant increase in users — from only 17 for that first holiday to about 300 for this past Memorial Day. The program also is available in Hampton Roads during other holidays associated with alcohol: New Year’s Eve, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day and Blackout Wednesday (the night before Thanksgiving), according to a spokesperson.
So far, 757 Sober Ride has provided 1,340 people with free or discounted rides. Representatives of Drive Safe Hampton Roads, the nonprofit behind the program, have made a concerted effort to promote the discounted rides to region bars so bartenders can suggest it to intoxicated customers — but there’s room to grow, the spokesperson said.
Jonathan Turner, chair of 757 Sober Ride, said in addition to the grave safety concerns with driving drunk, a DUI can cost you about $10,000 when factoring in the attorney fees, fines, lost time at work and higher insurance rates.
“If you plan to drink, please don’t drive. Be smart, plan ahead, and use 757 Sober Ride to get home safely,” Turner said. “The life you save may be your own, or someone you love.”
Of the drivers killed over the Fourth of July holidays from 2017 to 2021, 38% (552) had blood-alcohol concentrations above the legal limit, and nearly half (44%) of those aged 21-34 were drunk, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Drive Safe Hampton Roads is a nonprofit that has been operating in the region for 34 years. It is funded through a Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles grant, as well as the Christopher King Foundation.
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, [email protected]
