People all over the Central Coast will soon be ringing in the New Year. But one thing you don't want to start the new year with... is a DUI.
Local ride-share drivers say they are prepared to pick you up, so you can celebrate safely.
"Hopefully everybody's, you know, somewhat well-behaved and, you know, they can have fun. But obviously, as drivers we don't want people getting too rambunctious," said David Stapleton, Uber driver.
Stapleton has been driving for Uber on the Central Coast for almost two years.
"It's been a great job, you know, you make your won hours and work whenever you want. You're your own boss, you know, it's been really great," he said.
Stapleton says he is planning on driving on New Year's Eve since it should be a busy night for business.
"I think it's especially important if you're imbibing, if you've had a few drinks, it's just not worth it to even risk driving," he said.
Local California Highway Patrol officers say New Year's Eve is also a busy night for them.
"We are going to be out there at max capacity so that we're patroling the roads and getting drivers that are under the influence off the road before they can hurt somebody, drivers that are driving reckless or speeders, or people that aren't wearing their seatbelt," said Officer Maria Barriga, Santa Maria CHP Office.
The Maximum Enforcement Period runs from Tuesday at 6:01 p.m. through Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
Last New Year's Eve, 892 DUI arrests were made by the CHP across California over a 72-hour period.
"It's very frustrating to see that there are so many DUIs," Barriga said. "For the most part, we all know we're going out, we know if we are going to drink or not. We have tons of rideshare opportunities in every town. We have Uber and Lyft and taxis and friends and family."
Officer Barriga adds that it's good to have a plan ahead of time so you don’t get behind the wheel after drinking.
"Your reaction time is slower, you're not able to multitask, and that's what you do when you drive right?" Barriga said. "You need your eyes, you need your hearing, you need your hands, you need your feet. You need to be able to see something coming up and give your brain enough time to react and then have your body actually react to it. When you're drinking, all of that is impaired. It all slows down."
"I just want everyone to have a nice safe New Year's. If you're going to be out partying somewhere, the bars, friend's house, give us a call or a ping and we'll pick you up," Stapleton said.
