Palos Park Police Offer Free, Sober Rides Home On New Year's Eve

PALOS PARK, IL — If your idea of a first meal in the new year is a baloney sandwich with pink bone chips in it, go out and get drunk on New Year’s Eve. That’s what you’ll be having for breakfast in lock-up if you get arrested for drunk driving.

To prevent this from happening, Palos Park police will be offering free, sober rides home throughout the night. Officers will also be available to check on minors left at home alone during this time.

Rides will be offered from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. Officers will take revelers home, and not to another bar or party. No lectures and no questions asked.

Palos Park police will also have increased patrols out on the street this coming week for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, as will other nearby communities. Officers will be monitoring traffic for impaired and distracted driving, as well as seat belt violations.

“Our law enforcement partners will also have extra enforcement out patrolling the roadways,” said Chief Joe Miller, of the Palos Park Police Department. “Our goal is to prevent impaired driving, promote safe behavior, and quickly address any potential hazards.”

Miller asks residents to make a plan for getting home safely before going out to ring in the new year. Use a ride share, taxi or designated driver. Stay the night if you’ve been drinking or using cannabis. Party hosts should also be aware that they could be held civilly responsible if an impaired guest leaves their party and gets into a wreck on the way home.

If you see a vehicle weaving or driving erratically on the road, keep a safe distance and call 911.

"The concept is to encourage and take advantage of it,” the police chief said. “If someone is impaired and needs a ride, we would much rather have them call us than get behind the wheel and get into an accident.”

If you're in Palos Park on New Year's Eve and find yourself in a situation where you don’t think you can get behind the wheel safely (you don’t have be staggering, even buzzed driving can cause a person to get arrested for DUI or become involved in a tragic accident), call Palos Park police at 708-448-2191.