Let Someone Else Drive On New Year’s

By Amy Bentley-Smith
my.style Editor

Those who enjoy a drink or two — or three — at parties likely have done this before: It’s time to go home, but you’re a little intoxicated. You drive anyway.

The problem is you’re not just putting yourself at risk, but those on the road with you.

That’s where Scooter Patrol comes to the rescue.

These heroes of the inebriated will respond to your cries for help, drive you and your passengers safely home in your car and then scooter off into the sunset (or more likely, sunrise).

It’s something they do every weekend of the year, but this weekend of New Year’s is extra special, said founder Anthony Panzica. Scooter Patrol will be out in force.

“It is THE busiest night for us,” he said. “We’re working our hardest when others are partying.”

Panzica started the Sunset Beach-based Scooter Patrol three-and-a-half years ago as a Good Samaritan-gesture to keep drunk drivers off the roads.

“I wish there had been alternatives out there like this,” he said, admitting that in his younger years he had been in similar situations his “clients” find themselves in.

It could be said that he still bar hops, but these days it’s not to drink.

Panzica is one of about 60 volunteers who make up Scooter Patrol. About half a dozen usually are available when the weekend call comes in from a drunken stranger. Sometimes they don’t wait for the call and are already at a particular bar or party that has pre-arranged for their services.

Here’s how it works: A person calls Scooter Patrol — ideally a day in advance but a few hours will do in most cases. A volunteer driver arrives with a small collapsible scooter, puts it in the client’s trunk and drives him or her, even friends, home. Then the volunteer rides the scooter away to respond to the next call.

And it’s all for free, although tips are appreciated. Panzica said he made a conscious decision not to charge for the service.

“I came to the conclusion that a free service makes it available to anyone,” he said. “For people who are broke, it (offering it free) takes away their excuse for drunk driving.”

Panzica and his crew have seen it all when it comes to drunken behavior, from the giddy to the belligerent. He said his drivers are professional whatever the situation, even to the in-your-face drunks.

“I’ve gotten my feelings hurt by these guys to tell you the truth, but you have to keep in mind the innocent people,” Panzica said. “We don’t do it for the pleasure of the drunk people. We’re thinking of those innocent people on the road.”

Which is why they’ll be out for sure on New Year’s Eve in Long Beach.

Panzica said they’re pretty much booked for that night, but “we will try hard to handle as many people on call as possible.”

Scooter Patrol is available by calling 577-7365. People must live within 10 miles of their party location.

To learn more about Scooter Patrol, visit, www.scooterpatrol.org

For those who Scooter Patrol cannot assist, there is always the AAA Automobile Club of Southern California’s Tipsy Tow service.

Starting Friday, Dec. 29, at 6 p.m. and continuing until after midnight on Jan. 1, just call 1 (800) 400-4222 and say “I want a Tipsy Tow” and a tow truck will arrive to tow you home (oh, and your car, too).

The service is free the first seven miles, after which normal tow charges apply. Passengers must find their own way home.

Here’s to a happy — and safe — New Year.