Missouri State Highway Patrol watches for drunk drivers

COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)

Law enforcement officials are reminding everyone to keep safety as a top priority ahead of the new year as the New Year's counting period has already begun for the Highway Patrol as of 6 p.m. Friday.

The Highway Patrol said during the 2021 New Year’s counting period, one person was killed and 331 injured in 1,045 traffic crashes in Missouri.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crash Report website, at last check, there have been 8 crashes since 6 p.m. Friday. 5 crashes involved moderate or serious injuries and 3 crashes involved minor or no injuries.

"Many of the crashes that we investigate involving intoxicated drivers, you know, start off with just some erratic driving in general," said Cpl. Kyle Green with Troop F.

There have been no deaths reported and Troop F has responded to one crash.

"We'll be keeping a lookout or those type of activities on the roadways, which often lead to people being intoxicated and removing those individuals from the roadway," Green said.

If you are bringing in the new year with alcohol, up to 2,000 free rides home will be given out starting at 2 p.m. Saturday through 2 a.m. Sunday via Lyft to people in the St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, and Springfield areas.

People can get a free ride home (up to $30) using the code: BBGMONYE2022 in the Lyft app.

Breakthru Beverage Missouri and Absolut Vodka have partnered to make the free rides available. They say the rides are offered through Safe Home After Every Occasion. It's a program designed to make planning a safe ride home before a night out, a habit. Since the program started, it has given more than 100,000 Missourians a free ride home, according to organizers.

If you miss the free ride, you can also use the MoDOT discount code: SMZ2022 toward a sober ride