DRINKERS CAN GET FREE RIDES, TOWS HELP OFFERED TO AVOID TROUBLE.Byline: Jim Skeen Do you mean:
LANCASTER - Anheuser-Busch is partnering with Yellow Star Cab Co. and several Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley restaurants and bars to get drivers who have been drinking out of their cars and into cabs for the holidays. The regional sales office of Anheuser-Busch is providing coupons, each good for $8 toward a cab ride, to 29 bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and veterans' halls in the Antelope Valley. The effort will run through Jan. 4. The program, called Alert Cab, is in its second year in the Antelope Valley. ``The program's primary goal is to reduce drunk driving through the holidays,'' said Scott Miltner, operations manager See datacenter manager. for Anheuser-Busch's Antelope Valley sales office. ``A lot of people celebrate close to home and think it's OK to drive home. However, that's where accidents happen.'' When a worker at one of the businesses spots a customer who should not be driving, the employee calls a phone number on the coupon to get the person a ride home. The coupon is given to the cab driver cab·driv·er also cab driver n. One who drives a taxicab for hire. cab driver n → taxista m/f cab driver n → . If the fare is more than $8, the passenger pays the difference. Miltner said the company spends about $25,000 a year in the region on alcohol-awareness programs, including Alert Cab. Eventually, company officials would like to expand it into a year-round operation to combat driving under the influence of alcohol. Anheuser-Busch started Alert Cab in 1989. Since then, 331,000 cab rides have been given. Lt. Steve Fredericks of the Lancaster sheriff's station said it is common for drivers to drink at an establishment close to home and to imagine it's OK to drive home the short distance. Last week, a drunk driver hit Fredericks' car, which was parked outside his home. The driver had been drinking less than two blocks from his home. ``We wholeheartedly whole·heart·ed adj. Marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm: wholehearted approval. whole support any effort by the community to keep drivers off the road that have been consuming alcohol,'' Fredericks said. Another program for drinkers is sponsored by the Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California was founded December 13, 1900 in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first motor clubs dedicated to improving roads, proposing traffic laws and improvement of overall driving conditions. on New Year's Eve. The Auto Club's Tipsy Tow service is available from 6 p.m. on Dec. 31 until 6 a.m. New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. . Motorists, bartenders, restaurant managers, party hosts, former passengers or friends may call (800) 400-4AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. to get a drinker's car towed up to seven miles home. The service excludes rides for passengers, and a vehicle will be towed only to the driver's home. Reservations are not accepted. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com |
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