If you've been drinking in a bar during the holidays, you may be able to get a free taxi ride home.
City Cab Co., attorney Keith Barton and Southwest Ambulance are sponsoring a campaign to keep drunk drivers off the road. The campaign runs Dec. 22 through Jan. 2.
As a personal-injury lawyer, Barton said he knows how a person's life can be destroyed because a drunk person got behind the wheel.
"We'd rather not see those cases, obviously," he said. "Drunk-driving accidents are completely unnecessary, if people just plan ahead."
Barton said he heard from Salt Lake City police that DUI-related accidents and arrests in the area decreased during a similar campaign last year. Participants are asked to call 363-5550 for their free ride.
"We don't want them drinking and driving," City Cab co-owner Dave Jackson said about people who may drink too much in a bar during the holidays.
Jackson's cab company teamed up with Barton last year at the same time to the tune of about 500 trips, according to Jackson. His company of 55 cars paid 20 percent of each fare, which averaged around $10, and Barton picked up the rest of the cost during the campaign, Jackson said. This year, Southwest Ambulance is helping by donating money.
But Jackson added he wants to limit trips from bars to people's home. "It's not just a free ticket to go anywhere," he said.
And if someone acts in a belligerent manner inside the cab, the driver has the right to kick that person out of the car, Jackson said.