Article by: Conor Hollingsworth
View the full article on WTKR News Channel 3
Next weekend marks Super Bowl Sunday. A day of football, tasty dips and for some, drinks.
However, for those getting behind the wheel, local organizations want you to know, if you’re driving under the influence, you’re not just risking your own life, but the lives of everyone on the roads.
“There’s a lot of problems in society where we’re searching for the cure. Well this is one we have the cure for, just don’t do it,” said Mike Goodove, President of the Southside Chapter of Moms Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Goodove lost his brother to a drunk driver in 1990. He says, not only will your decision to drive impaired affect innocent lives, but it will land you in a lot of trouble.
“If you choose to get impaired and get behind the wheel, not only are you taking a tremendous risk with injuring or killing people, but you’re going to be locked up. And the courts take it very seriously,” he said.
According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, there were 163 crashes, 94 injuries, and three fatalities during Super Bowl 2023. As part of an initiative sponsored by a different organization, Drive Safe Hampton Roads, between the hours of 7p.m. and 1a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, residents in the area will be able enter ‘757 Sober Ride’ code on the Lyft app under the payment tab, and get up to $15 off a safe ride home. For some, that could mean a free ride.
“If we can take an impaired driver and not put them behind the wheel, we’ve saved not one life but many lives on the roadway,” Goodove said.
Not only are there organizations encouraging responsible drivers next weekend, but so are local bars and restaurants.
“It puts our licenses in risk. So not only do we wanna not have anybody get injured drinking and driving, but we wanna protect our businesses as well,” said Jason Janezeck with Keagan’s Irish Pub.
Janezeck says rideshare services are always waiting out the pub ready to take people home who need it.
You can click here for a link to the Lyft deal. The promo code will be posted at 7p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday.