[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office offers holiday ride program for motorists who drank too much

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office offers holiday ride program for
motorists who drank too much

Published: Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 2:32 PM     Updated: Tuesday,
November 30, 2010, 2:38 PM

 The Times-Picayune 

St. Bernard Parish residents who have been drinking can call the St. Bernard
Parish Sheriff's Office for a free ride home during the holiday season.

In an effort to curb drunk-driving accidents, the Sheriff's Office is
offering the free rides, no questions asked.

"We don't want to have to arrest anyone and we sure don't want anyone
injuring others or themselves by driving drunk, so we urge parish residents
to take the free ride home,'' Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Residents can call the Sheriff's Office at 504.271.2501 and a sheriff's
deputy will pick them up and take them home. Non-residents who have been
drinking in the parish can call and get a ride to a sheriff's sub-station
and make arrangements to be picked up there, the Sheriff's Office said.

"We will take a resident home from wherever they are in the parish - a party
or a bar, etc. - but they must stay home and we will not take anyone to a
separate party or another bar,'' Pohlmann said.

The ride home program began at Thanksgiving and runs through Jan. 2. Signs
have been placed at the entrances of the parish to remind motorists they can
call for a ride and to never drive drunk.

Sheriff Jack A. Stephens started the program in 1984. Roughly 20 people a
year take advantage of the offer, Pohlmann said.

The Sheriff's Office will be working with State Police to battle
drunk-driving and checkpoints will be set up to specifically look for
impaired drivers, according to Capt. Walter Dornan, head of the Traffic
Division for the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office.

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