The Richland County Injury Prevention & DUI Task Force and Sidney Shuttle is proud to continue the Ride Token Program this year for the 2021 Richland County Fair and Rodeo (RCF&R), thanks to past success and a generous community donating to the program.
Since 2016, the Ride Token Program has provided folks at the RCF&R with Free ride tokens giving 329 individuals safe rides home. These tokens are provided to the Richland County Sheriff Office and beer garden volunteers that have been trained in Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service, mandated by the State of Montana. During the event, Deputies and servers provide these tokens to those that appear to be too buzzed or impaired to drive home, or those that ask. It is a joint effort for community and agencies to reduce DUI arrests, injuries and death, and to keep our events and the ride home, in our area, safe for everyone to enjoy.
The Ride Token Program began in 2015 with the Holiday Token Program where these free ride tokens were given to bars and law enforcement throughout Richland County for the holiday season and then for other events like the Fairview Festival and RCF&R. It quickly became apparent that it assisted in the drop of DUI arrests, injuries and deaths in Richland County.
Since 2015, 3,184 tokens have been provided, resulting in 811 safe rides for impaired drivers that would have driven on Richland County roads. Those rides cost $10,035 at an average of $12 per ride. The Ride Token Program is funded only by generous donations of donors and fundraising. If you are interested in donating to provide a safe ride for buzzed or impaired individuals, you may send the donation to the Richland County Health Department/DUI Task Force, 1201 Holly St. Suite #1, Sidney, MT 59270. This gift is tax deductible. If you have any questions or interested in joining the Task Force for this or other projects, call Don Smies at 406-433-2207 or email at [email protected].
Check us out on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/RichlandCountyHealthDepartment or on Live Stories, https://insight.livestories.com/s/v2/dui-injury-prevention-task-force/e5038097-8a98-4fa0-8c03-d4360a6f815d.
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