New Year’s drinkers can call for a ride home

AAA offers service with other groups

12/30/2013

If you plan to go out and drink on New Year’s Eve and need to avoid driving when you shouldn't, AAA Northwest Ohio and other area agencies offer solutions.

“I would rather have them call for a Tipsy Tow service than get behind the wheel and drive, whether they had one drink or many,” said Krystle Agler, a marketing assistant at the auto club. “They may be saving lives by giving us a call.”

AAA Northwest Ohio will offer the service from 6 p.m. Tuesday through 6 a.m. Thursday to drinkers who have no designated driver to take them home this holiday.

To use the service:

● Call 1-800-AAA-HELP (1-800-222-4357) during the time the service is offered.

● Ask for a Tipsy Tow.

● Give your name, home address, phone number, and vehicle location.

After following those steps, Tipsy Tow clients and their vehicles will receive one-way rides up to 10 miles at no charge. Tows will not be provided to destinations other than one’s home or a hotel at which one is, or plans to be, a guest.

“Tipsy Tow is available to help northwest Ohioans celebrate the New Year’s safely while helping fulfill AAA’s mission of making roads safer for everyone,” April Cochran, the local auto club’s vice president of membership, marketing and public affairs, wrote in a prepared statement.

In the Bowling Green area, the auto club, in partnership with other area organizations, will offer rides home from city bars and night clubs to those who reside within 10 miles of the city from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday through a Swallow Your Pride, Call for a Ride program.

Program partners include Wood County Safe Communities Coalition, the Ohio Highway Patrol, Bowling Green Police Department, Bowling Green State University Police Department, BGSU Shuttle Services, Wright Tire & Auto, Shipley Automotive, B.G. Towing & Repair, and Frank’s Automotive.

Those who keep their keys during New Year’s in Wood County will be under the watchful eyes of extra patrols by the Wood County Sheriff's Office, funded by an Ohio Traffic Safety grant.

Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said the campaign, which began in mid-December and concludes Thursday, focuses on moving violations that are leading crash factors: speeding, tailgating, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. All intoxicated-driving and seat-belt violations will be cited, the sheriff said.

Free coffee will be offered, meanwhile, late Tuesday night and early Wednesday at selected service-plaza restaurants on the Ohio Turnpike. All A-Plus Convenience Store, Burger King, Hardees, and McDonald’s outlets on the toll road will provide free coffee to travelers from 10 p.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Contact Mike Sigov at: sigov@theblade.com or 419-724-6089.