AAA set to offer free tow service | News, Sports, Jobs
AAA Hawaii will offer its Tipsy Tow service for those celebrating New Year’s who may have had too much to drink.
The free tow service is available from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.
Motorists, bartenders, restaurant managers, party hosts or passengers of a drinking driver may call (800) 222-4357 for a free tow home of up to 5 miles.
Callers should tell the AAA operators, “I need a Tipsy Tow,” to receive the free tow and ride home. A regular AAA Hawaii-contracted truck will be dispatched.
Restrictions are that the tow-rides are a one-way, one-time ride for the driver and that the destination is limited to the driver’s residence. Reservations are not accepted.
Drivers can expect to pay the rate charged by the tow truck contractor for rides farther than 5 miles.
Tipsy Tow is a community service offered by AAA Hawaii as an option of last resort.
“We want motorists to be aware of the high crash risk from drinking and driving associated with the holiday and encourage them to think twice about getting behind the wheel if they have been drinking,” AAA Hawaii’s General Manager Liane Sumida said in a news release.
In 2012, crashes involving drunken drivers claimed 10,322 lives, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Drinking drivers frequently don’t plan for other ways to get home because they are concerned about retrieving their vehicle. They cite the expense of taxis and time inconvenience as the major reasons they don’t use alternative transportation, according to AAA Hawaii.
AAA Hawaii estimates that a first-time drunken-driving conviction can cost about $15,649 or more in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees and insurance costs.
“It takes only one or two drinks to slow physical and mental skills and affect vision, steering, braking, judgment and reaction time,” Sumida said. “Drivers should be aware that the law enforcement agencies are using extra patrols to look for drinking drivers during the holiday.”
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