Free designated driving service offered by Regina, Saskatoon bar franchise

The owners of Victoria's Tavern and Leopold's Tavern are providing a free designated driver servicein Saskatchewan's two biggest cities next month.

"By offering a free option for our patrons to get home safely over the holiday season we hope to educate and motivate people to always celebrate responsibly," said Matt Pinch, president of the Leo's Group, in a press release.

The program will be offered on a first-come, first-servebasisfrom 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. CSTon Fridays and Saturdays this December.An employee from First Choice designateddrivers will drive patrons and their cars home from any of the five bar locations (four in Regina and one in Saskatoon).

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"We hope that in some way this initiative contributes to a positive long-term change in behaviour surrounding the dangers of impaired driving in Saskatchewan," Pinch said.

The Saskatchewan government recently passed new laws aimed to combat the problem of impaired driving in the province.

The changes include vehicle seizures of three days for any driver with a blood alcohol content between.04 and .08.
According to SGI, 44 per cent of fatalities on the roads are alcohol related.

In 2015,there were 53 people killed and 562 injuries in Saskatchewan crashes related to drunk driving.

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