WASHINGTON – Those who will celebrate Cinco de Mayo should make plans to avoid driving drunk or prepare for potentially serious consequences.

“We will have extra officers out who are specifically looking for drunk drivers. They have no other duties unless there is an emergency in the city,” says Alexandria Police Department spokeswoman Crystal Nosal.

Maryland State Police want civilians to get into the act too, saying they could help save a life. To report drivers who seem impaired in Maryland and D.C. call 911. In Virginia, the number to call is #77.

Here are a few tips from the Maryland State Police to arrive home safely:

• If you plan to drink, leave car keys at home.
• If friends plan to drive while impaired help them make other arrangements or take their keys if necessary.
• Realize that walking while impaired can be as dangerous as driving drunk. Get a sober friend to walk you home.
• If you’re impaired and unprepared with a designated driver – call family, friends or a cab for a ride home.

Free cab rides are available for impaired drivers through the SoberRide Program. This is the first year SoberRide is available for Cinco de Mayo that celebrates Mexican culture and heritage.

“Albeit a Mexican holiday, in this country on Cinco de Mayo, 41 percent of all traffic fatalities are caused by drunk drivers,” says Kurt Erickson, president of the non-profit Washington Regional Alcohol Program, which sponsor’s SoberRide for various holidays throughout the year.

Providing free cab rides to would-be drunk drivers “can be life-saving,” Erickson says.

Riders must be 21 or older to use SoberRide for a free trip home of up to a $30 fare. SoberRide is available from 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 5 until 4 a.m. Wednesday, May 6, 2015.

Find other terms and conditions here: www.wrap.org/soberride

To call for a SoberRide: 1-800-200-TAXI (8294).