9 months ago
Whether you call it trashed or just plain drunk, when you've had one too many drinks, it's dangerous to drive.
Mother's Against Drunk Driving says thousands of Americans lose their lives each year to impaired drivers, but a new service hitting the streets of Macon can help get you and your car home safe after a night on the town.
Every weekend, Zingo designated drivers turn into a band of superheroes. They help keep people who've had too much to drink off the roads and put a sober driver behind the wheel, but it's not the same as just calling a cab."The luxury of getting home in your own vehicle and not having to worry about you know taking the chance of driving because you don't wanna leave your car behind or worry about how you're gonna get back to it the next day," said Frank Arnold, operator of Zingo Macon.
People call when they need a lift and a insured driver rides a Zingo motor bike, that tops out around 30 miles per hour, to their location. What makes it different is that the driver folds the 60 pound bike up and puts it in the client's trunk. They then take you and your car home for the night, using the bike to get back to their headquarters.
Arnold and his crew have zipped across Macon scooping up clients for two months. They started at the end of March. Arnold says the idea's starting to take off. They get between 8 and 10 calls a night, with things picking up around 11. He says they're even starting to see bookings for events.
The service operates Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 10 until 2:30 the next morning. A Zingo ride will cost you $20 plus an additional $2 per mile. The drivers usually hang out and watch television until the calls start to roll in.
"It's a wide variety of people and a wide variety of ages. I mean we're seeing a little bit of business from the colleges in town all the way up to professionals who've been working in the Macon area for 20, 30 years," said Arnold.
Many of the Zingo drivers, however, do attend college in the area. Eric Langston, a senior at Mercer University, says he's seen people drive after nights out downtown first hand, and knowing that his jobs cuts that down, makes his side gig worth it.
"It gives everyone else peace of mind," said Langston, speaking of drivers who sometimes unknowingly share the road with impaired drivers. Still, he says that peace comes easily knowing something as simple a ride could save lives.
You can Zingo them at 478-254-6555 or visit the Zingo website at www.zingomacon.com.
