It's OK to celebrate the arrival of 2020 tonight, but if you do that, don't drive drunk or stoned.
No need to run the risk of getting caught by the RCMP and being left with a criminal record or worse, causing an accident, not when the volunteer force known as Operation Red Nose is ready and willing to take your keys and give you a safe ride home.
When that call is made, teams of three Red Nose volunteers work together and are dispatched to pick up drivers who are intoxicated or perhaps due to medical conditions, don't feel healthy enough to drive home. The designated driver takes the customer's keys and one other volunteer stays in that vehicle as a navigator, while the other team member drives an escort vehicle.
"The whole concept of Red Nose isn't strictly impairment, it's for anybody who just doesn't feel comfortable driving for whatever reason," said Operation Red Nose co-chair Ken Pendergast.
"When we arrive, they give us the keys to the vehicle and we check it to make sure everything's OK and there's no apparent damage to it before we leave the location. There's never been a time when anybody in our program was at risk and that's the main concern we have."
Operation Red Nose came to Prince George in 1999 and for three years was operated by the UNBC athletics department. The Nechako Rotary Club took it over in 2002. That year they provided 320 rides in nine days of operation. This year's Red Nose service started Nov. 29 and as of Tuesday afternoon they'd provided 765 rides. Pendergast, who has been involved all 22 years, expects that total to reach 1,000 when the final tally is taken on Wednesday.
Payment for the service is not mandatory but donations are encouraged and will be used by the Rotary club to help pay for kids to play amateur sports and get involved in youth programs.
"We don't go out and party like we used to when we were younger - it's a program we started with our Rotary Club and we just keep doing it and it feels good to do it," said Pendergast. "It gives those people the opportunity to celebrate a bit and bring in the new year without some of the risks."
All Red Nose volunteers are required to pass criminal record checks every three years. They can volunteer for just one night or be like John Ruston, who hasn't missed a single day in the nine-day holiday period for the past 11 years.
"I think it works really well we make everybody aware that we're working in concert with the RCMP," said Pendergast. "It's a win-win for them and for ourselves."
The number to call for Red Nose is 250-962-7433.
The service is available from 9 p.m.-4 a.m.
If by chance all 25 Red Nose teams are busy offering rides, Pendergast says there are alternative ride providers such as Keys Please, two taxi companies and city transit, which is offering free bus service from 7 p.m.-3 p.m.
During the holidays, Red Nose does go outside the city limits to places like Salmon Valley and Shelley but due to the increased demand of New Year's Eve its teams will provide rides strictly within the city.
