Free Holiday LYFT Rides Offered Throughout Greater Washington to Prevent Drunk Driving
Over a third of U.S. traffic deaths during Christmas and New Year’s Involve Drunk Drivers

By PRESS OFFICER
Washington Regional Alcohol Program

TYSONS, Va. (Dec. 9, 2024)—Preparing to combat that time of year when according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, well over a third (38% Christmas; 37% New Year’s Day—NHTSA 2022) of U.S. traffic deaths involve drunk drivers, a local nonprofit organization announced today that free safe rides will be offered to would-be drunk drivers throughout the Washington-metropolitan area during this holiday season.

Offered by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the 2024 Holiday SoberRide® program will be in operation nightly from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. from Friday, December 13, 2024 until Wednesday, January 1, 2025 as a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk holiday period.

Each evening during this six-hour period, area residents ages 21 and older celebrating with alcohol may download the Lyft app to their phones then enter the SoberRide® code in the app’s ‘Payment’ tab (under the ‘Add Lyft Pass’ option) to receive their no-cost (up to $15) safe transportation home. WRAP’s separate 2024 Holiday SoberRide® promo codes will be posted at 9 p.m. on December 13, 20 and 31 on www.SoberRide.com.

“Over a third of all U.S. traffic fatalities during Christmas and New Year’s in 2022 involved drunk drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” said Kurt Erickson, WRAP’s President.

Last New Year’s alone, over 800 (831) persons in the Washington-metropolitan area used the free safe ride service rather than possibly driving home impaired. The charity also offers its SoberRide® program on St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day and Halloween.

“Lyft is dedicated to providing access to reliable and responsible rides, and we’re proud to partner with programs like WRAP to offer Lyft as an alternative to impaired driving,” said Kamillah Wood, Director of Public Policy for Community Safety at Lyft. “Through our Roadway Safety Program and our partnerships with the public, we hope to empower our community with the tools to protect themselves and those around them this holiday season.”
 
SoberRide® is offered throughout Lyft’s Washington D.C. coverage area which includes all or parts of: the District of Columbia; the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s and towns therein plus the cities of Bowie, College Park, District Heights, Gaithersburg, Glenarden, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Laurel, Mount Ranier, New Carrollton, Rockville, Seat Pleasant and Takoma Park; and the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and towns therein plus the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

Sponsors of WRAP’s 2024 Holiday SoberRide® campaign include 395 Express Lanes, Anheuser-Busch, Beer Institute, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, Diageo, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Giant Food, Glory Days Grill, HEINEKEN, Lyft, Molson Coors Beverage Company, New Belgium Brewing, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. WRAP’s 2024 Public Partner SoberRide® Sponsors include the District of Columbia Highway Safety Office, Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Since 1991, WRAP’s SoberRide® program has provided 91,504 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.

Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] Washington Regional Program (WRAP) is an award-winning public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington-metropolitan area. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with helping to keep the annual percentage of metro-Washington traffic deaths involving alcohol-impaired driving historically lower than the national average. WRAP, however, may best be known to area residents via the organization’s popular free safe ride service to prevent drunk driving, SoberRide®.

More information about WRAP’s SoberRide® initiative can be found at www.SoberRide.com.

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Maryland Department of Health Celebrates Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities 20th Anniversary at Health Equity Conference

By PRESS OFFICER
Maryland Department of Health

BALTIMORE (Dec. 10, 2024)—The Maryland Department of Health marked the 20th anniversary of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities at its annual health equity conference held today at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD.

This year’s conference highlighted the Office’s commitment to health equity while emphasizing the need to address the social and systemic inequities that impact the health and well-being of individuals and communities in Maryland.

The Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities was established in 2004 to address social determinants of health, reduce health disparities, and promote health equity using resources from the Maryland Department of Health. This office is tasked with collecting, compiling, and analyzing data on race and ethnicity to enhance health outcomes. Additionally, it strives to build strong public and private partnerships within the community to advocate for health equity and education.

Conference attendees included hospital administrators and staff, health organizations, academic institutions, community advocates, and members of the public. The conference featured vendor exhibits and topical programming, including health equity and criminal justice, meeting health care needs of women and female presenting persons, the economic aspects of health equity, and more.

For more information about the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, visit health.maryland.gov/mhhd.

The Maryland Department of Health is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement.

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