A program has emerged in Santa Fe that offers local youth free designated drivers — regardless of any obstacle or liability. The group, dubbed Safe Ride, aims to stop teens from drinking and driving. Impaired teens can call the service and a member of the Safe Ride team will take them and their car to a secure location.

The founders of Safe Ride are a 16-year-old from Monte Del Sol Charter School, a 17-year-old from St. Michael's High School and a 17-year-old from Santa Fe High School who all spoke on the condition of anonymity due to liability and privacy.

While there are safe-driving programs targeted and available for adults in the community, the founders wanted to create a program strictly for teens. They called on kids they knew to be the designated drivers. Currently, Safe Ride has about 25 designated drivers. "The whole point is no drinking and driving," said the founder from Monte Del Sol.

The founders say they have experienced little to no support from the Santa Fe community — with the exception of adults they personally know — during the premature stages of the Safe Ride program. The group recognizes that what it is doing is risky.

"We talked to some law enforcement officers and lawyers about the liabilities," said the founder from St. Michael's High School. Despite the risks, some of the people they've talked to "think it's great we are doing something like this."

Richard Roth, the executive director of Impact DWI, is one of the people against the new teen organization.

"I am a strong supporter of initiatives that reduce drunk driving, but I am opposed to those initiatives that enable abusive drinking," Roth said in regards to Safe Ride. Roth, 71, has devoted the last 12 years of his life to DWI research. Some of his statistics show underage drivers have the highest rate of alcohol-related crashes, and teens with DWIs have the highest probability of becoming repeat offenders.

The Impact DWI Web site recognizes itself as a community action and advocacy organization, which puts an emphasis on ending alcohol abuse in New Mexico. Like Safe Ride, it is run strictly by volunteers. The institution provides alcohol and DWI curriculum for middle-school students all the way up to college. All of the funds donated to the program are used to "address the reduction of DWI," according to the Web site.

The Safe Ride founders believe their program is doing just that. Each weekend, there are volunteer drivers on call from dusk until dawn.

"Teens may call the Safe Ride phone and the secretary who has the phone (one of the three founders) calls the drivers, and gives them directions to the person or party," a founder said. The drivers work in pairs, so one driver drops the other off at the impaired teen's location to help them drive their car to a safe place.

The program began the first week of October, but has been gaining little momentum. "I would like to see it turn into a sure thing," said the founder from SFHS.

From Roth's point of view, the Safe Ride program is "like giving someone a pill that prevents heart attack but gives them cancer." He believes the teen-run program is promoting alcohol abuse among an age group that is already plagued with its effect. The founders of Safe Ride disagree, and see their program as an alternative to driving drunk and harming themselves and others.

"Telling kids not to do something doesn't work," said one of the teen founders.

"I might support Safe Ride programs if there were some consequences that offset the enabling of continued alcohol abuse," Roth said. It is his belief that parents — not friends — should solve the issue.

The group maintains it has a very realistic grip on the situation of Santa Fe teens and drinking. The founders are proud of their efforts, and would like to see Safe Ride "become a model organization so other towns can adopt the idea," said the founder from Monte Del Sol.

"I would like to see people take up the responsibility when I go to college," the founder from St. Michael's said. "Now, its on our shoulders."

Eventually, the group has a goal to raise funds to purchase a van and have a Spanish-speaking chapter.

Jahla Seppanen is a senior at Monte del Sol. You can reach her at jnm747@hotmail.com.