MillerCoors Drunk Driving Prevention

Here at MillerCoors, we believe that with great beer comes great responsibility.  That’s not just something we say -- over my six years working here, I’ve seen this idea put into practice.

My colleagues and I are passionate about responsibility  – we believe that drunk driving is 100 percent preventable. We want our customers to enjoy our products on their night out, but we also want to help make sure that they plan ahead for a safe ride home. Because of that, more than two decades ago we started our Free Rides program in Milwaukee on New Year’s Eve so people ringing in the New Year would have a safe way to get home. 26 years later, we’ve brought our Miller Lite and Coors Light Free Rides programs to 16 cities for various holidays and events, and have helped over 4.1 million people get home safe.

Coors Light Free Rides in Phoenix

In 2013, I was proud to be part of the team who brought Coors Light Free Rides to Phoenix, Arizona.  We partnered with Valley Metro, the local transit system, and Crescent Crown Distributing, our local distributor, to give away free rides on public transportation in the metro area on New Year’s Eve.  With the branding of the Coors Light Cold Train as part of the Valley Metro system, this seemed like a natural partnership, but it also seemed like the right thing to do for our community, and the program was fully embraced by our alliance partners and public agencies.

Over 37,000 people took advantage of Coors Light Free Rides on New Year’s Eve in Phoenix.  In total, Phoenix saw a 63 percent increase in holiday light rail riders over the previous year, and there was a 36 percent decrease in the number of DUI arrests between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

I love the beer industry – working with a team that has common goals and commitment to bring people quality products is rewarding.  But like so many others at MillerCoors, I care deeply about our customers and the communities in which they live.  As a Valley native it brought me a great sense of pride to be part of a program that aided our overall public safety, and the fact that I work for a company that allows us to create and fund a program like Free Rides is truly remarkable.