file photos Motor vehicle-related deaths impact the Navy and Marine Corps community. In 2008, the Naval Safety Center report 34 traffic incidents with 28 being fatal.

The SoberRide program has offered 44,120 cab rides home to would-be impaired drivers in the greater Washington Area, said Kurt Erickson, WRAP president and company executive officer.

The program began in 1993 and is intended to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during traditionally high-risk holiday periods.

‘‘I think it’s a great program,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Theresa Richards, leading petty officer of the Ophthalomogy Department at National Naval Medical Center. ‘‘If it takes young people off the road and there are no negative consequences for using the program you can’t beat that.”

Richards knows people who have used the program before and advises others to do the same if necessary.

‘‘They just hand in their card. They don’t receive any repercussions and their cab fair is paid for,” Richards said.

The SoberRide program is the nation’s largest effort for designated driver programs, Erickson said.

Nine Washington cab companies staff the program and several associations, foundations and corporations support it.

To be eligible for a WRAP cab ride, the call must originate from the DC Aera. There is no limit to how many times a passenger may use the program, but the taxicab receipts are reviewed for misuse or overuse.

‘‘This is good for a back-up, a safety net. However, this should not have to be used,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Joseph Malley, leading petty officer of NNMC’s Ear, Nose and Throat Department. ‘‘[SoberRide] should be used as the last resort. People should not go out thinking, since I have a sober ride card, I can go get wasted and get a ride home. You should use good judgment [when drinking] in the first place. ”

Richards tells her Sailors to use a cab if they’re too impaired to drive. She also tells them to call her or someone in their chain of command if they need a way home safely.

‘‘I’m always willing to give someone who is in need a ride,” Richards said.

WRAP pays up to $50 for a taxicab ride and that a SoberRide and a regular cab call are equal in the taxicab company’s que.

WRAP spends $60,000 a year to make sure people get home safely, Erickson said.

‘‘As good as our collective prevention and public education initiatives might be in preventing drunk driving, you still need a safety valve to those high-risk and high-alcohol consumption periods,” Erickson said. ‘‘SoberRide is that safety valve.”

For more information about the WRAP SoberRide program, go to www.soberide.com.