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Hernando Today

Too Much Eggnog? Call For Free Ride Home

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: December 24, 2008

Overindulged on Christmas party eggnog?

There's a way to get both you and your car home safely.

AAA Auto Club South and Budweiser are teaming up again this year to offer a free tow and ride home to anyone too tipsy to drive.

The number to call is 1-800-AAA-HELP (1-800-222-4357). Callers do not have to be AAA members and no distance is too far. The identity of riders is kept confidential.

The program, "Tow To Go," got started in 1998 at the suggestion of a tow truck driver.

The drivers "are the ones that go to the scenes of accidents and have to see what happens," when people drive drunk, said Joanna Newton, senior project manager for AAA Auto ClubSouth.

The program has expanded its coverage over the past 10 years to all of Florida and parts of Tennessee and Georgia. So far, more than 8,600 drivers have taken advantage of "Tow To Go."

There is 100 percent cooperation every year from all of the tow truck fleets that service AAA members, Newton said, which opens a network of between 2,500 and 3,500 drivers.

Translation: Waits for a ride are expected to be minimal.

Budweiser "substantially funds" the program and "keeps standing up to make it possible," Newton said.

This holiday program runs from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve weekend - the same time period that the Florida Highway Patrol is stepping up its enforcement.

FHP announced Tuesday that it is taking a "zero tolerance" stance for aggressive and hazardous drivers. That includes driving under the influence.

The force will be bolstered by placing troopers typically assigned to desk jobs behind the wheel of a cruiser. Also boosting their numbers are reserve and auxiliary members.

Together they will be out from 12:01 a.m. Dec. 24 through midnight Dec. 28. Increased patrols will resume midnight Dec. 31 through midnight Jan. 4.

"... We will have zero tolerance for violators who have a disregard for the safety of others," Col. John Czernis, director of FHP, said in a prepared statement.

To view a full schedule of 2009 holidays for which Tow to Go service is provided, visit www.aaasouth.com

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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