When you think of people who are fighting drunk driving, your mind doesn’t normally go to the people who sell the beer, wine and spirits. But if a company is going to sell you alcohol, they have a social responsibility to make sure you use common sense when you drink it, and that’s why big beer and alcohol companies have designated driver programs in place.
Take Anheuser-Busch for example: designed to help consumers make safe choices, they have the Budweiser designated driver program that promotes the use of designated drivers anywhere the beer is served. Designated drivers in the program get discounts on non-alcoholic drinks and food in exchange for having a dry night and making sure everyone in their group gets home safely.
Anheuser-Busch also two cab-related programs called Bud Light Alert Cab and SoberRide. Those programs ask cab drivers to give out reduced or free fares to people who are too drunk to drive. There’s also Bud Light Tow To Go, a program that partners with AAA in Florida and other southern states to arrange vehicles to be towed home free of charge with the owner riding in the tow truck. This program makes sense because a lot of people will skip getting a cab or designated driver because they don’t want to leave their car overnight.
Some areas have scooter programs that are sponsored by Anheuser-Busch. If someone has been drinking and needs a ride home, a driver with a scooter meets him or her. The scooter is folded up and put in the trunk, and the sober driver gives everyone a ride home.
They sell alcohol, so companies like Anheuser-Busch know how dangerous drinking and driving is. Although they can’t force everyone to make the right choice, they can supply designated driver programs, and with these in place, someone might think twice before they get behind the wheel.
