The holiday season is here and with it comes an increase in making merry and letting inhibitions go! Some merry makers could use a friend to step up as a designated driver, getting them home safely after a night out. If you’re planning on offering to be a designated driver for friends or a volunteer service, you can help save lives.
Follow along with our designated driver information and tips to ensure that everyone makes it home safely!
5. Bring Supplies
You should have everything you need for comfortable, safe, and legal driving. Legally speaking, you should have your licence, insurance, and vehicle registration. Safety speaking, your vehicle should be in working condition (headlights, windows, wipers, tires, etc.). Comfort speaking, choose a comfortable pair of shoes and bring along a coat in case you find yourself outside of the car.
Whether you know them personally or not, you may want to consider bringing along some supplies for your passengers as well. Stocking up with bottled water, paper towel, and mess kits can make the night a bit easier to handle. If you’re on the road for multiple trips, consider bringing along some air freshener and hand wipes as well.
4. Avoid Extras
Before you pick up any passengers, make sure you know what the seat limit is. If there are only four seat belts but a fifth person is asking for a ride, offer to call them a taxi, a Lyft, or make two trips. Having more passengers than seatbelts can result in a hefty fine at a traffic stop, as well as cause for more distractions and a higher risk of injury if an incident occurs.
3. Lay Ground Rules
Next, you should be sure to lay down some ground rules. Driving requires focus and intoxicated passengers can cause distractions. Let your passengers know that they need to be respectful of the focus needed, and keeping the music and talking at a low level will help you keep everyone safe. If you’ve got enough room, it may be beneficial for any passengers to ride in the back seat rather than the front.
2. Keep it Legal
Make sure that your friends or passengers do not bring any open alcoholic beverages into your vehicle. This can lead to a traffic ticket and a big damper on the night. If you come across a passenger with an open container, pull over and secure the container in your trunk or properly dispose of it.
If you hold a Novice licence, you still need to adhere to the licensing and passenger restrictions that your licence comes with. This means if you want to transport more than one passenger, you’ll need to have a qualified supervisor in the front seat with you. This qualified supervisor must hold a full-privilege licence, be 25 years of age or older, and not be impaired.
1. Stay Sober
Before you agree to be the designated driver, make sure that you’ve got a plan in place for yourself too. The most important rule is to make sure that you are sober before getting behind the wheel. If you’ve had a few drinks after agreeing to be the designated driver you need to look at organizing a different ride home for everyone, and yourself.
How do you become a designated driver?
There are two options for being a designated driver during the holiday season. You can be a designated driver for your friends and family, and you can also signup with a safe rides program like MyDDRide, Operation Red Nose, and ASARide. Being a designated driver for your friends and family just entails letting them know you’re available, and making sure you stay available.
If you make the offer and commitment to be a designated driver, it’s important that you stay sober and pick up the call when it comes through. If you’re going to spend time with your party while they’re drinking, don’t get caught up in any peer pressure and have something to drink.
Safe ride programs like Operation Red Nose put you in the driver’s seat and on-call for providing rides to anyone that needs it. Make sure to check if the program is operating in your area, as each region relies on its own sponsor to open each year. Companies like MyDDRide and ASARide provide team drivers to get people home safely. They have teams of two, where they will come get you and your vehicle, so you don’t need to arrange to get your car back the next day. Some of these options can be called on-demand as well as pre-booking to make sure you aren’t waiting around in the cold!
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There are so many ways to be a great designated driver. You’ll be keeping yourself safe, your friends safe, and everyone else on the road safe by choosing not to drink and drive. If you find yourself in a situation with no designated driver, there’s plenty of options such as Lyft, Uber, cabs, and safe ride programs. No matter what, make sure you and your passengers have a safe and secure ride home.