ST. GEORGE — As part of an effort to encourage people who drink to refrain from driving this Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, Auto Club AAA is offering Utah motorists a safe way to get home by providing free rides and car towing.
The holiday season is one of the deadliest times on Utah roads: 48 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes in 2017 during the months of November and December. Drunk drivers play a role in more than 40 percent of traffic deaths over Christmas and New Year’s, which is a 12 percent increase over the rest of December.
To bring those numbers down, AAA offers a free “Holiday Safe Ride” program, or “Tipsy Tow,” which provides those who’ve had a few too many alcoholic beverages a ride home – within 10 miles from the person’s pickup point to their destination, Austin Buff with Bracken’s Towing said.
The service is offered statewide in Utah Dec. 24 between 6 p.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday and then again Dec. 31. The ride is free for both AAA members as well as non-AAA members.
“Once they call the AAA number we’ll pick them up and we can take them within 10 miles of their pickup point for free,” Buff said.
Drivers, passengers, party hosts, bartenders or restaurant managers can call 855-TOW-2-GO to get a free ride home for the driver, their car and one other person.
Provide the driver’s name, home address, phone number and vehicle/driver location and the call desk will send a tow truck to the location and drive “you, one additional passenger and your car home, one-way,” the AAA statement said.
Just tell the AAA operator, “I need a Tipsy Tow.”
Tipsy Tow was created by AAA to combat fatalities stemming from drinking and driving, according to its site, especially during the holiday season when statistics are higher for fatalities.
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