HOUSTON – Local law enforcement officials are urging New Year’s Eve revelers to be safe and “have a plan,” to get home safely without drinking and driving after celebrating the new decade.
Harris County and Houston officials announced initiatives to crack down on drunk drivers during the New Year’s Eve “no-refusal” night.
“There’s no winners no matter what, whether it’s an innocent person lost their life or a drunk driver who lost their life, the drunk driver survives and goes through the criminal justice process," said Sgt. D. Egdorf, of the Houston police DWI taskforce. “Both families lose somebody no matter what.”
“You can be doing everything right and still be hit by a drunk driver," said John McNamee with Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “It can injure you. It can kill you, and create lots of havoc and lots of carnage, and drunk driving is a choice. Someone made a choice to do that.”
So here are some of the resources to get home safely Tuesday night and Wednesday morning:
Tipsy Tow
AAA Texas has partnered with the Houston Police Department, Memorial Hermann Red Duke Trauma Institute, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others to offer drunk drivers a free tow home.
The Tipsy Tow service will tow a driver’s car up to 10 miles for free between 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to 6 a.m. on Jan. 1.
If you want to get a Tipsy Tow, call 800-222-4357.
Metro
The Metro Rail and Metro Lift will be offering free rides on New Year’s Eve until 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day. You can find more information on ridemetro.org or by calling (713) 635-4500.
Lyft
Lyft is partnering with the Texas Department of Transportation to offer discounted rides on New Year’s Eve. New and existing users can use the promo code NYEHOU2020 to receive $10 off their ride on New Year’s Eve.
Budweiser and Silver Eagle Houston also partnered with Lyft to provide a $5 credit that can be used through New Year’s Day with the promo code BUDHOLDAY2019.
Parking
The city of Houston will not enforce parking meters throughout the city on New Year’s Day.
