Q&A: Bartlesville Police Offering Free Rides Home To Stop Drinking And Driving On New Year's Eve

Bartlesville Police are offering free rides to people on New Year’s Eve to stop people from drinking and driving.

If you call dispatch, an officer will take you home anywhere inside the city limits.

Lieutenant Chris Neal with Bartlesville Police says they’re proud to offer this service every year and hope people will take advantage of it to keep themselves and others safe.

HOW DO THE FREE RIDES WORK?

"This year, we're going to have patrol spearhead it, and so what people will do is if they're out, they'll call the non-emergency line, and a dispatcher will get ahold of a patrol officer,” said Neal. “We're going to use patrol officers that are already out, already on shift."

WHY SHOULD I USE THIS SERVICE?

Neal says it’s important to make sure people don’t risk their lives and the lives of others while drinking and driving.

"Once somebody chooses that path, everybody's in danger on the road,” said Neal. “This is a surefire way to keep people off the road, get them home safe, and then they can actually enjoy their holiday."

WILL I GET IN TROUBLE IF I CALL POLICE?

Neal says the free rides are not a way for the police to get anyone in trouble.

"There's no tricks, there's no gimmicks,” said Neal. “We want to really put out there that the whole point of doing this is for public safety. We're not trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes or anything like that, we just simply want to give people another option and let them get home safely to their families."

HOW LONG DO THE FREE RIDES GO FOR?

Bartlesville Police say they will offer the free rides from 10 p.m. on December 31 to 2 a.m. on January 1.

WHO DO I CALL?

You can call dispatch at 918-338-4001.

HOW FAR AWAY CAN I GO?

Bartlesville Police say the rides must be within Bartlesville city limits.