Volunteers will drive you and your car home for free
Read more: Local, State, Community, Consumer, Morning Show, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Family
Every year hundreds of people are killed in DUI related crashes across the nation.
In 2007, Men's Health Magazine ranked Colorado Springs the third drunkest city in the country citing DUI arrests.
Statistics show each year in Colorado, more than 30,000 people are arrested for drinking and driving.
In 2007 in Colorado Springs, officers arrested more than 1,300 people for DUI before July. That same year, 34 people died in DUI related crashes in Colorado Springs.
Now though a local group of volunteers are hoping to decrease those numbers by offering a new service to the area called 'Designated Driver' of Colorado Springs.
"What we are currently is kind of a volunteer service, if somebody has had to much to drink and decides they need to get their vehicle home and might make the judgment call to do so, we want them to call us and we will get them home and their car," Brian Kindall said.
Kindall is a volunteer with 'Designated Driver' of Colorado Springs. He said the small corporation was the brain-child of Pueblo resident Nick Gonzales.
"He just wanted to make a difference, and where we saw a gap was where people do not call a cab because they do not know how to get their vehicle home," Kindall said.
Launching in Pueblo, the service has expanded to Colorado Springs running solely on sponsorships from local businesses.
Kindall said 'Designated Driver' will only give rides to those who need to get their car home as well.
"It is almost an emotional experience every time we take somebody home, they are very appreciative of us taking their car home and keeping them safe," Kindall said.
He said their goal is not to take business away from the local cab company but rather reach out to a certain niche of people.
"If not for the cab companies the problem would be much much larger, we just want to pick up that small gap of people who want to take their cars home, that is the only gap we want to fill." Kindall said.
For more information click on the websites below:
Colorado Springs
www.noduisprings.com
719-650-3450
Pueblo
www.noduispueblo.com
710-406-2930
Click on the movie camera/video icon to view the story as it aired on FOX 21 News.
