In response to Independence Day being the U.S. holiday when nearly 40-percent of all traffic deaths are alcohol-related, a local nonprofit group will be offering free cab rides to would-be drunk drivers throughout the Washington-metropolitan area this Fourth of July.

Offered by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the Independence Day SoberRide program will be in operation beginning at 10:00 pm on July 4th and continue until 4:00 am the following day as a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk holiday.

During this six-hour period, area residents celebrating with alcohol may call the toll-free SoberRide phone number 1 –800 –200–TAXI and be afforded a free and safe way home.

“For the last decade and for its hours of operation, WRAP’s Independence Day SoberRide program has averaged the removal of a would-be drunk driver from Greater Washington’s roadways every two-and-a-half minutes,” Kurt Gregory Erickson, WRAP’s President said in a statement.

Local taxicab companies throughout the Washington area provide this no-cost service to local residents age 21 and older who otherwise may have attempted to drive home after drinking.

SoberRide is offered in the District of Columbia; throughout the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s; and throughout the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, (eastern) Loudoun and Prince William.

Sponsors of this year’s Independence Day SoberRide offering include Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Diageo, ExxonMobil, GEICO, Giant Food, MillerCoors, Red Top Cab, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, Volkswagen Group of America and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association.

Participating taxicab companies include: Alexandria Yellow Cab; Barwood; Fairfax Yellow Cab; Loudoun Yellow Cab; Manassas Cab Company; Red Top Cab; Silver Cab of Prince George’s County; Yellow Cab of D.C.; and Yellow Cab of Prince William County.

Commemorating its 30th year in 2012, the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program is an award-winning public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with keeping the metro-Washington area’s alcohol-related traffic deaths consistently lower than the national average.

For more information, visit www.soberride.com.