Designated driver

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A designated driver is an individual within a group of people drinking alcoholic beverages at an event/establishment who promises to remain sober to drive the others home afterwards. In order to encourage these arrangements, some proprietors will offer free non-alcoholic drinks to designated drivers.^[1]

1 Designated Driver Advocacy Groups
2 Designated Driver Companies
3 Public Health Campaigns
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Designated Driver Advocacy Groups

Various college and high school organizations, such as CARPOOL at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas and BUSY at Gulfport High School in Gulfport, Mississippi and RAMRIDEat Colorado State University, offer to give free rides home on weekend nights to fellow students. Doctors for Designated Driving is the voice of the medical community in promoting designated driving. Although Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) originally opposed the concept because it enables some people to continue drinking, it now supports designated driving.^{[citation needed]} Designated Drivers Foundation, a Nevada non-profit group was formed in 2008 to create awareness about the perils of drinking and driving, educate the public about driving programs, and promote and fund sensible alternatives to drinking and driving.

[edit] Designated Driver Companies

Numerous businesses have sprouted up across the United States to help address the problem of drinking and driving. They transport their drivers using one of three methods car, collapsible scooter, or foldable bike. Designated Drivers, Inc, was founded in 1998 and is currently based out of Las Vegas, NV. This company uses two person teams: one person to drive the impaired individual in their own vehicle, and the other person as the follow driver. NightRiders, Incorporated was the first one to use collapsible, motorized scooters in the US. The drivers drove customers home in their own vehicles, stowing the scooters in the customer's trunk. Upon arrival to the customer's destination, the driver collected the fare, assembled the scooter, and rode off to the next customer. This company is now out of business according to their website. Drivers Incorporated, based in Washington DC, uses foldable bikes for the last mile of transportation to and from public transportation.

Noticing the need for Designated Driver programs to be established nation wide, A Designated Driver Launched in 2002 and now has locations in 16 states. They offer an affordable opportunity for people to start their own profitable designated driver service in their city or on college campuses nation wide. A new Designated Driving company has started in the in the town of Schaumburg, Illinois called Designated Driving Inc. Designated Driving, Inc. is one of many new businesses out to keep the roads safe at night by keeping drunk drivers off the road.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Public Health Campaigns

In Europe, the Bob campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of driving while intoxicated and, more specifically, promotes the idea of a designated driver.

The adoption of the designated driver program was an undertaking of Jay Winsten’s Harvard Center for Health Communication. They imported a pattern of activity from Scandinavia - that one person in a group refrain from drinking in order to drive - into US culture through careful coordination with the media. It seems like there are a lot of interesting lessons to be learned here: [1]

"The Harvard Alcohol Project represented a genuine breakthrough for public health. It marked the first time that a health institution joined forces with the communications industry on a project of this magnitude. All major Hollywood studios participated along with the ABC, CBS, and NBC television networks. Channels, a respected trade journal, called the extent of this industry involvement "unparalleled," and The New York Times lauded the initiative in an editorial."

"According to industry estimates, the Project received over $100 million annually in network air time, utilizing under $300,000 in annual grants."

"Designated driver" became a household phrase in the U.S. to such an extent that the term appeared in the 1991 Random House Webster's College Dictionary. Public opinion polls documented the rapid, wide acceptance and strong popularity of the designated driver concept. According to the Roper Poll, the proportion of Americans serving as a designated driver reached 37% in 1991. Among Americans under the age of 30, 52% had actually been a designated driver. Among frequent drinkers, 54% had been driven home by a designated driver. The Wirthlin Group reported that nearly 9 out of 10 respondents in the country were familiar with the designated driver program and they gave it a favorability rating of 81 on a 100-point scale; the designated driver program rated higher than all other programs or industries rated.