JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Do you have your Designated Driver? Well New Year's is almost here and many of you are probably planning to hit the town with friends and family and some drinking may be involved. It's important to make sure you have a designated driver or a safe ride home.
In a recent AAA study, one in eight of all licensed drivers who drink, admit they have driven when they thought their alcohol level might have been close to, or over, the legal limit in the past year.
That's why AAA partnered with Bud Light to provide a Tow To Go service to discourage intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel.
"If you find yourself having had too much to drink, you can call and AAA will take you and your car home as long as it's within 10 miles... you do not have to be a member," said AAA spokesman Bill Bishop.
The service is called Tow To Go and started back in 1998 as a last resort to keep drunk drivers off the streets.
"Since the program's inception, we've taken over 23,000 intoxicated drivers home. That's a pretty good chunk off the roadway, make it safer for everyone," said Bishop.
Tow To Go can transport the driver and a passenger, along with the vehicle free of charge. They'll take you home or to a safe area within 10 miles, and it won't be reported to the cops.
Carl Harms' father was struck and killed by two separate drunk drivers on Interstate 10 West in April 2007.
"I had seen the crash, but it wasn't until I went to see the vehicle that it affected me as bad as it did," Harms said. "It lit a fire in me."
Nancy Shaw's son, Matthew, and his friend, Christopher, were killed when a drunk driver rear-ended their vehicle in 2005.
"When my husband looked out the door, he saw two state troopers, and he didn't want to open the door because he knew," Shaw said. "You hear about these things happening to other people and on TV, but you never think it's going to happen to you, and then one day you wake up and your life is totally changed forever."
Florida Highway Patrol trooper Jasmine Bennett said unfortunately, during holidays, the number of DUI crashes typically goes up.
"When you're driving under the influence, you're not in control of your body, your motor skills, your reaction time is slow as far as if someone is stopping in front of you," Bennett said. "You're not able to react in time and you can't function properly."
Sgt. Dylan Bryan with the Florida Highway Patrol says Tow To Go is a great option to keep your designated driver from becoming a drunk driver.
"One of the number one excuses that I've gotten in my experience, is that they didn't want to leave their car behind. They didn't want the hassle of going back the next day, or at a later time, to pick up the vehicle and they decided to drive home," said Bryan.
In 2012, more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-related crashes and Bryan says all of those DUI crashes could have been prevented.
"Drink responsibly, know your limits. If you think you're anywhere near the legal limit of being intoxicated, find another way home. Call a cab of course you're stuck with your car wherever you've been partying the next day," said Bishop.
Harms and Shaw said their tragedies have inspired them to try to help others make the right decision.
"Take a moment, put your loved ones in your heart and minds. Think of your mother, your daughter, your father, your sister, your sons, and how would you feel if you got that phone call, or that knock on your door," Harms said.
AAA offers the Tow To Go service in Florida and Georgia.
You can't schedule a Tow To Go ahead of time, it's a last-resort service.
You can use the free service by calling 855-2-TOW-2-GO OR 855-286-9246.
Remember you don't have to be a AAA member to use this service.
They'll be offering Tow To Go through 6 a.m. New Year's Day.