TAMPA, Fla (WFLA) – A new study suggests Florida’s drivers are not exercising caution on the roads during New Year’s festivities, but 8 On Your Side has found options to get to and from a celebration safely.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Florida has one of the highest amounts of fatal crashes per capita, with 1.15 fatal New Year’s crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers.

According to that same data, nearly 36 percent of fatalities during the holiday period in 2017 involved drunken drivers

Between 2013 and 2018, Florida held the second-highest number of New Year’s crashes with 167. The state ranked just behind Texas, which had 188 crashes. California had less than the Sunshine State, with 154 crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers.

Of those crashes in Florida during that 5-year span, 39 were fatalities involving drunk drivers.

As Tampa Bay rings in 2020, 8 On Your Side has safe alternatives to getting homes safely from a celebration.

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) will offer free rides beginning at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve on all fixed-route bus services.

On New Year’s Eve, Uber is offering free rides up to $10 with the code “SAFERIDETPA“

Along with the safer option of ride-sharing, AAA is once again partnering with Budweiser to offer its free, confidential “Tow to Go” service, which will bring an impaired person and their vehicle home or to a safe place within ten miles.

Since 1998, the service has safely removed more than 25,000 impaired drivers from roads across the Southeast and the Midwest. 

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