Thousands of people in Green Country will be ringing in the New Year Saturday night. Many will have an adult beverage or two. Police are hoping ride sharing programs will keep people off the roads.
It's called Tride Rideshare. It's a similar ride service like Uber and Lyft. But, there's absolutely no up-charge in cost even when high in demand like New Year's Eve.
A normal day for stay-at-home dad Joseph Desrosiers is playing with his three kids and the neighbors. But at night, his priority is his large maroon Nissan.
He's a driver for Tride, a locally owned ride service.
"The minimum cost it might be to get home for me is worth a piece of mind knowing that I'm not putting myself in jeopardy and or any other innocent lives out there in jeopardy," Desrosiers said.
Saturday is one of the biggest nights people go out and drink. Tride offers no up-charge, no matter the demand.
"If you go out for $20, you're coming home for $20," Desrosiers said. "Where if it's an 8x multiplier, you're looking at $160 to return."
The local service began in August. They're hoping to decrease the amount of DUI's this New Year's Eve, which Tulsa police say have fluctuated over the past five years.
"In 2011, we had 12 DUI's or APC's, which are actual physical control," Tulsa police Sgt. Shane Tuell said. "Last year we had 19. So they fluctuate and we don't know why but they do. In my opinion, those numbers should continue to go down."
Sgt. Tuell says services like Tride help those who've been drinking get some safely. He knows the consequences. In the late 90's, he was hit by a drunk driver while on his way to assist another officer.
"It was about that far from being fatal to me," he said. "It crunched in the backseat from the drivers side half way in to the interior of the vehicle from hitting a light pole."
If you've been drinking this New Year's weekend, don't drive. Someone like Joseph Desrosiers is happy to give you a ride.
Tulsa police say they will have multiple DUI checkpoints throughout the city Saturday night.
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