MCPD increasing roadway enforcement for 4h of July

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) – The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) will have a bigger presence than usual on the roads Thursday.

MCPD says this increased enforcement is meant to keep people safe and the streets clear of impaired drivers.

Montgomery County is gearing up for a busy Fourth of July.

“We have a lot more traffic on our roadways,” MCPD’s acting assistant chief of field services David McBain said. “People tend to consume alcoholic beverages a lot more during the holidays.”

To deter drunk driving, MCPD is increasing their presence on many of the county’s main roads.

“That’s where we tend to have more of our serious collisions and fatals,” McBain said. “So, we try to become a stopgap.”

McBain says the best way for people to celebrate the holiday and get home safe is to make a plan.

“With Uber,” he said, “Lyft and other services, there’s so many ways in which you can get around the county safely.”

The local nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) agrees, which is why they’re offering discounted Lyft rides for 1500 passengers through their SoberRide initiative.

“At three o’clock tomorrow on Independence Day,” Kurt Erickson, president & CEO of WRAP, said, “people can go and get the SoberRide code. Starting at 4 p.m., they can put that into their Lyft app, and you’ll be afforded a free and a safe ride home. We pay up to a $15 fare.”

Erickson says 447 passengers used the service last Independence Day. He hopes even more will utilize it this year.

“We’re not anti-alcohol,” Erickson said, “but we are emphatically anti-drunk driving. Again, every drunk driving incident is 100 percent preventable. You’ve got a program, a local lifesaving program, that’s available and that’s free. It’s not just offered until midnight on July 4th, but until 4 a.m. the following day.”

The promo code for the discounted Lyft ride will be available Thursday, starting at 3 p.m. on SoberRide.com .

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