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SoberLift program returns for July 4th holiday

Delaware’s Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is bringing back the 4th of July SoberLift program this week, for the second consecutive year.";

The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is hoping to curb drunk driving at the Delaware beaches this Fourth of July holiday through a partnership with Lyft.

The state is using its SoberLift program this week for a second consecutive year.

“We’ve partnered with Lyft to help provide rides home for Delawareans who are going out and enjoying nightlife and we want them to have a safe and sober way to get back home,”said Richard Klepner, the impaired driving program manager at the state’s Office of Highway Safety.

He says the program begins on Wednesday, July 3 at 4 p.m. and run through Sunday, July 7 at 2 a.m., “We’ll invite people to text “SoberLift” to 99000; they’ll get a code to redeem within the Lyft app and then they’ll receive $15 towards their next ride to wherever they’re going.”

Klepner says last year, 636 codes were downloaded in beach communities. Roughly half of the codes, 318, were redeemed.

The Office of Highway Safety says from 2014 to 2018, 4th of July weekend saw 53 DUI-related crashes and five DUI-related fatalities at the Delaware beaches. Reports indicate all of those crashes occurred between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m.

 

 

"Last year we had - unfortunately we did have 12 DUI crashes during the same time frame that we’re implementing the SoberLift code program this year," said Cindy Cavett, marketing specialist and public information officer for the Office of Highway Safety. And we did have one DUI fatality last year.”

 

Cavett says street teams will also hand out SoberLift vouchers, as well as promote the SoberLift program at local bars and restaurants this week.

She says the Office of Highway Safety is also partnering with Delaware State Police and local law enforcement for the national summer holiday campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

 

 

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.