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WI: Safe Rides Program Funded by Drunk Drivers
March 9, 2005

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News Summary

A Wisconsin program that offers safe rides home to people who have been drinking too much is funded by tavern owners and fees charged to convicted drunk drivers, the Associated Press reported March 7.

Every convicted drunk driver is assessed a $5 fee that goes toward Saferide, a program developed by the Tavern League of Wisconsin. Bar owners used the service about 30,000 times last year to get drunk patrons home safely, twice the rate of 2003.

Critics say the program encourages heavy drinking and question its use of government money. However, the state Department of Transportation estimated that Saferide prevented at least a dozen DUI crashes in 2003.

More than 1,000 bars participate in the Saferide program.

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