These are people who are in WELLINGTON HORSE SHOWING. They can afford an uber/taxi. The issue is people stepping up to the plate and cutting them off/taking away the keys/getting rid of the culture that it’s ok to drink and drive. I think the limo service is a nice idea but not the real solution. These folks will keep getting behind the wheel because despite the deaths and the alternatives, apparently the message hasn’t hit home. Limos don’t make the message hit home. Shaming/peer pressure/adults stepping in/barkeeps stepping in might.
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I just saw this article. I think it incorporates some good ideas, especially the part about getting the car home at the same time. I hope the involvement of the mayor means that she will take steps to increase police presence on the roads, since she will not be able to feign ignorance of the program or the problem.
While I agree that irresponsible people are the underlying issue, if it’s a choice between doing nothing and making an effort, I think it’s better to make an effort.
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Mardi, I sent you a PM.
But drinking and then relying on a taxi or limo ride home isn’t really a charity, and shouldn’t be considered one. Or did I misunderstand what you were saying ?
From the COTH article: “To get an Uber car in Wellington during the daytime can take 15 to 20 minutes,” he [Robert Dover] continued. “There just aren’t that many drivers. In that 15 or 20 minutes, kids and adults make choices…”
I don’t use Uber,
Is 15 minutes considered a long time to wait ??
Me too. I like seeing the trainers and riders getting involved in the bouncer program
I guess I was thinking of it in charitable terms, although maybe it’s not technically set up that way. Are the people who sponsor the limos making a charitable contribution that’s deductible? Or just doing a good deed? Which is also a nice thing! I don’t know the details of how they’ve been funding it since it started almost two years ago.
Even if it doesn’t qualify as a charity that could win prize money from the class, maybe they could figure out a way to get some exposure from the event. Perhaps sponsor a jump or something.
Getting drunk rich people home is not a “charity,” even if doing so is a good idea
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Maybe the money could go to the police department to fund an increased number of breathalyzer checkpoints.
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These are, at least initially, self funding. The fines they pull in feom catching people pay for the program.
When I was getting EMT certified, the instructor tols us our county implemented check points after a spate of drink driving problems. The program paid for itself because it caught a lot of people.
Eventually, however, it was so effective that people stopped driving drunk because they feared getting caught, so they weren’t catching people anymore to pay for the program, at which point they figured preventing drunk driving wasn’t so important anymore and they diabanded the program.
It really would not be that hard to set up check points near known hot spots, but if people just fundraise for limo rides instead actual enforcement will never happen. The Wellington demographic in particular is accustomed to leading largely consequence free lives so actual checkpoints that actually work will not be welcomed.
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