GLEN DALE — Gold, Khourey & Turak aims to keep the streets safe this New Year’s Eve with its “Booze & Cruise, You’ll Lose” free cab service provided in collaboration with IC Cab.

The free cab rides home begin at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, and continue until 3 a.m. New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1. They are limited to a 15-mile radius of Wheeling or Moundsville. The coverage area includes Shadyside, Martins Ferry, Bridgeport and St. Clairsville in Ohio.

Area residents can call IC Cab Company at 304-232-1313 and ask for the “Booze & Cruise, You’ll Lose cab,” or the “GKT cab,” and the law firm will pay for the ride home. The service can also be accessed through the IC Cab app, where users can schedule their rides and use the promo code ‘GKT’ at checkout.

IC Cab asks that participants be patient and provide drivers with a one-hour notice as New Year’s is their busiest time of the year.

IC Cab will record all the fares that use the discount that night and then send the bill to GKT to be reimbursed. GKT car accident attorney Christopher Turak said those who use the service should still tip their driver that night.

This year marks the 22nd time GKT, a personal injury law firm that represents people injured or killed by drunk drivers, has offered the service. Turak said over the 50 years the firm has been in the Ohio Valley, its attorneys have witnessed the “tragic consequences” of many drunk driving accidents.

“Unfortunately, people are hurt and even killed (in drunk driving accidents), so we’ve always taken an interest in trying to prevent drunk driving,” Turak said. “The New Year’s Eve cab service is a natural extension, trying to prevent drunk driving by helping make the roads safer.”

Turak noted the free cab rides not only make sure intoxicated people get home safely, but they also make the roads “as a whole” safer by reducing the risk of someone impaired being on the roads on New Year’s Eve.

“Somebody who’s impaired driving on the roads poses a risk, not just for themselves but for everybody,” Turak said. “On New Year’s Eve, you have people out and families driving around. People’s loved ones are out there, so we want to try and do what we can to make the streets and roads around here safer for everybody.”

Turak encourages anyone who plans on drinking alcohol on New Year’s Eve to use the service. He noted that when people do not plan how they will get home before they start drinking, they may make mistakes once their judgment becomes impaired.

“When your judgment starts to become impaired, that’s when you decide, ‘Yes, I can drive, I’ll be fine,'” Turak said. “That is why we promote the cab service ahead of time: to ensure people plan to use it before going out. Things start to get a little bit risky once they go out.”

Turak said drunk drivers do not make a “conscious decision” to drive drunk but instead lose the ability to make a good decision once their judgment becomes impaired.

“Those accidents occur more often than not because someone loses the ability to make a good decision,” Turak said. “It’s not unusual to come into here on New Year’s Day and have a phone call from somebody who’s been involved in an accident and the other driver was under the influence. That happens more often than we’d like to see, so we’re always trying to find ways to cut down on that.”

Turak said another benefit of the service is that residents can “enjoy their time on New Year’s Eve while knowing they will be able to get home safely.”

“We want people to call and schedule that cab ride so they can get home on New Year’s Eve after having fun,” Turak said. “They’re not going to have any risk of an accident, injury or getting arrested for DUI, which is not insignificant on a person’s record.”

Turak said the firm has seen a gradual increase in the service’s popularity, adding that expanding it to Moundsville and across the Ohio River increased users.

Turak said he enjoys seeing the totals for the cab runs on New Year’s Eve the following day because it demonstrates that residents are taking advantage of the service and were able to get home safely.

“We want everyone to have a good time and make it home safely,” Turak said. “There is really no excuse to drive under the influence this New Year’s Eve.”