Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.

Despite the popular saying, an immense amount of opposition has risen in response to the implementation of Safe Rides, a confidential transportation service for Northbrook teens on weekend nights. The program simply aims to create a safer environment—not by acting as a taxi-service for the intoxicated, but by providing a secure return home after curfew when nights out don’t go as planned.
The controversy of the program is rooted in its fundamental mission.

Of course there are flaws in the system, but there are flaws in any system. When all is said and done, the safety of  our community as a whole benefits from its existence.

For starters, Safe Rides is neither school-run nor school-supported, according to Dean of Students William Eike, who feels parents should be the ones picking up their kids instead.

But the fact of the matter is that some kids still get in a car with their friends before calling home. If kids are calling their parents before Safe Rides, all the better. However, for those who do not have that kind of support system, it is beneficial that the program is in place for those who need it.

Some argue that programs like Safe Rides condone underage drinking by giving users an easy way to get away with risky behaviors. But the program is not there to condone. It is in place as a safety net, as its name suggests. Although some may abuse the program by using it as an escape route from consequences, the societal ramifications of driving while under the influence are far worse an option.

Safe Rides cannot define the decisions you make, but it can help to ensure that those decisions do not endanger the rest of society. On our list of priorities, the safety of our community at large should be held at the highest level.

Hopefully we will be able to live in a community where we do not need a program like this, but for now, drive it forward.