SAFE RIDES HOME AN EVALUATION OF ASPEN'S TIPSY TAXI PROGRAM

Ride service programs (RSPs) for alcohol-impaired persons have been in existence for many years. They vary from holiday only, such as New Year's Eve or St. Patrick's Day, to year-round programs. A 1988 NHTSA study identified 325 RSPs across the country. Most RSPs use taxis to provide transportation, but some use private vehicles, tow trucks, buses, or even police cars. Some programs even dispatch two drivers, one to provide the ride home, and the other to drive the drinker's vehicle.

Although RSPs are widespread and relatively easy to set up and operate, impact evaluations are rare. For many programs, the fact that they are delivering rides (even a small number) is evidence enough for them that the program is working.

Mid-America Research Institute conducted a study for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to evaluate a year-round RSP in Aspen, Colorado called Tipsy Taxi.

How the Program Works

Since 1983, the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office has administered Tipsy Taxi as a crime prevention program, with assistance from both the Aspen and Snowmass Police Departments and the local restaurant association. A fundamental philosophy in Aspen is that there should be a partnership of law enforcement and community to encourage people to make correct choices. Tipsy Taxi is an extension of that philosophy and is intended to be so simple to use that even a person whose judgment is impaired by alcohol will make the right choice -- to take a free ride home instead of driving.

An advisory committee guides Tipsy Taxi. The committee is comprised of the deputy sheriff coordinator, an Aspen police officer, the taxi company owner, a taxi driver, a bus driver, a bus supervisor, a bar owner, a bartender, the county attorney, a doctor, a member of the alcohol abuse recovering community, and a citizen at large.

In 1990, the Aspen City Council instituted ordinances prescribing mandatory training for bar owners, managers, and bartenders in topics such as liquor laws, over-serving laws, underage drinking laws, signs and symptoms of intoxication, symptoms of diseases that can mimic intoxication, tactics for peacefully cutting off service to intoxicated people, and proper use of alternative rides, including Tipsy Taxi.

Peace officers also have training in dealing with intoxicated people. Tipsy Taxi vouchers can be authorized only by these trained professionals.

Tipsy Taxi is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The ride is free and confidential. A ride can be initiated in several ways. Most often, a Tipsy Taxi ride is offered by a bar employee or peace officer who identifies a person needing help. However, a ride can be requested by a bar patron to the bartender. A host of a private party can also call the police for a voucher for a guest. In any scenario, once an individual has been identified as a Tipsy Taxi client, the bartender or peace officer is responsible for that person until he or she hands off the person and voucher to the taxi driver.

Although sources of funding have changed over the years, two basic concepts have remained constant: tax dollars may not be used to fund Tipsy Taxi fares and the program may not operate in the red. Funding has come from fund-raising events, mailed solicitations, grants, alcohol license fees, and fees for DUI offenders.

In addition to occasional publicity events, on-going public information efforts have included advertisements in the local newspaper, radio public service announcements in English and Spanish, flyers in rental cars, and news coverage about the program.

Injury Crashes Decline 15 Percent

There were too few fatal crashes in Pitkin County and the comparison counties for formal statistical analysis of this type of crash, but the raw data suggest a reduction in the number of fatal crashes in Pitkin County after Tipsy Taxi, while there was little or no reduction in the comparison counties. There was a small but statistically insignificant reduction in nighttime crashes of about 4 percent after Tipsy Taxi began. Analysis of injury crashes, however, yielded a highly significant reduction of 15 percent after the program began, while there was no reduction in two comparison counties.

The fact that nighttime and fatal crashes declined coincident with the implementation of the Tipsy Taxi program, and that injury crashes declined significantly, suggests that this RSP helped reduce alcohol-related crashes.

A ride service program that is integrated into a comprehensive program including public information, enforcement, and sanctioning can lead to reductions in alcohol-related crashes.

HOW TO ORDER

For a copy of Evaluation of a Full-Time Ride Service Program: Aspen Colorado's Tipsy Taxi Service (29 pages), write to the Office of Research and Traffic Records, NHTSA, NTS-31, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, or fax (202) 366-7096, or download from http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov Amy Berning was the contract manager for this project.

U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-31
Washington, DC 20590

Traffic Tech is a publication to disseminate information about traffic safety programs, including evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish.

If you would like to receive a copy contact:

Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor, Evaluation Staff
Traffic Safety Programs
(202) 366-2759, fax (202) 366-7096
E-MAIL: lcosgrove@nhtsa.dot.gov