I wonder how well that works in the rain or snow.
And my 50cc scooter can’t possibly fit in the trunk of a standard sedan without bashing it to fit.
MrAru tended to be the designated driver back in his navy days, he liked the all he could swill coffee for free that he got =) and I tend to be the designated driver because I cant drink any longer, so it works out just fine =)
In this town, we’ve also had an unusual service that you could get your car towed home for free by a local towing company on certain super drunken holidays. This was an amazingly great concept. I actually know someone who was able to take advantage of this service (well, it took like 3 hours).
On the other hand, it’s impossible to flag down a cab on Halloween, New Years, Solstice, or Fiesta at closing time. It was just that more difficult to get a tow truck to come and haul your sorry ass and your car home.
They have sobriety checkpoints here also, where they stop every car. They can occur year-round, but they seem most common during December and big sports events like the Super Bowl. But like the other Canadian cities mentioned above, we have Operation Red Nose and the outfits that drive you home in your own car. And, if you’re off to something like a Super Bowl party at a sports bar, you just might decide to take a cab both ways, and leave the car at home.
Plus there are a lot of legal liability issues.
Suppose the drunk doesn’t have valid insurance on his car? (About 25% of drivers don’t, and those who drink to drunkeness are more likely to be in that group.) If the car is stopped by police while you are driving it, you are guilty of driving an uninsured vehicle, and can have your license suspended (and telling the judge “but this drunk guy said he had insurance” won’t help).
If you get in any kind of an accident, the drunk guy can sue you for damages to his car (or even just the deductible).
Can’t imagine that this is any more of a problem in the US than in the UK, which also has similar services to the “daiko” available. (I’ve seen adverts for them in pubs.) Further, the UK also has “last orders” like the US, so again, that isn’t the reason why the US isn’t implementing similar services.
One such service is Scooterman. His scooter is folding so it can fit in most boots, although I doubt you could fit it in the boot of my mini.
This isn’t odd when you realize the minimum population density for a taxi service to be profitable is only rarely reached in this country. This makes drunk driving a significant problem in rural areas, where there’s a good saloon in every single town but the nearest city big enough to have a taxi service is many hours away.
This has historically had significant consequences for Montana, which was the worst state for DUI in 2007; it has 80% of its traffic on rural roads. Therefore, regardless of how successful this is, it can’t make much of a dent in America’s overall DUI problem.
Thanks for all the replies, folks. It sounds like the existence of similar services in the UK and Canada (and possibly a few U.S. cities) means that something like this could work in the U.S., just that for some reason it’s not as economically feasible. I wonder if something like this might be successful in a semi-rural or suburban area, where regular taxis are much rarer, and where DUI rates are higher because everyone wants to drive his or her own car or truck to the bar. If a company could get folks over the “Don’t touch my car, stranger!” factor, it just might work with just a small staff of drivers/co-drivers.
I had friends who used to call a tow truck a few times a year; it was almost the same price as a taxi, and when you awoke, your car was in the driveway. Brilliant.
I agree in general. However, in this particular area family members of mine in law enforcement knew a bit about many of the drivers. Many had prior convictions (not like a NYC, where you just have to prove having a name that is unpronouncable to get licensed :rolleyes: ). IOW, most of them were basically gypsy cabs, but working under the auspices of a legitmate taxi service.
Jon Hilkevich’s column in today’s Chicago Tribune discusses several similar services in the Chicago area. One distinction between these and the “daiko taxis” the OP describes is that at least some of these services seem to be more about doing pre-arranged driving for you, both to and from the bar (i.e., you need to know ahead of time that you plan on using them).
Daiko’s cheaper, possibly because it’s subsidized by the government. I also believe it’s relatively recent. A 10 minute cab ride back from the bar in my area will run $25, whereas daiko is about $17.
Daiko companies all have insurance. If a daiko guy crashes your car here, surely you don’t think that your insurance company has to pay for it.
Yes, I do. My insurance covers my car, no matter who I let drive it. (Assuming they are a licensed, legal driver.) Heck, if my car is stolen and the thief crashes it, I believe my insurance company pays for that.
Of course, if these Daiko companies carry insurance, I’m sure my insurance company will try to get them to pay. Just like they will try to get a car thief to pay for damages. (Insurance companies will always try to get someone else to pay!) But in the end, my insurance pays for my car.
Call your insurance company to be sure. And read your policy language. People always assume this but it’s not always the case. You need comprehensive coverage to cover theft, generally. Plain 3rd party liability will not cover your losses in the case of theft (obviously). Though I’m not sure whether just liability will cover damage caused by your vehicle if it’s been stolen. That may vary depending on your insurance carrier and policy type.
Call to make sure. Assumptions are dangerous when it comes to insurance. There’s a difference between permissive use of your vehicle by a non-excluded third party and non-permissive use of your vehicle by a stranger.
On rare occasions, I’ve seen the logo for this group in Atlanta.
Just a quick followup: I asked this on Facebook as well, and I learned that Los Angeles and Dallas apparently have the scooter-in-the-trunk service as well. Seems the idea is spreading, at least to major cities in the U.S.