SAN ANTONIO – As the Alamo City gets ready to pop open the champagne this New Year’s Eve, police are already on the roads and ready to crack down on drunk drivers.
"If you're caught behind the wheel of a car, intoxicated, you're going to go to jail,” Officer Matt Porter with SAPD says.
If you drink and drive, you’ll pay more than just the bar tab: one DWI can cost you thousands of dollars.
"You're looking at jail time,” Officer Porter says. “You're looking at lawyer fees, court costs."
He says thanks to a state grant, SAPD is bringing in officers on overtime to keep the roads safe.
And like the highway signs say, if you’re pulled over, no refusal is the law.
"If you're pulled over for DWI and the officer has reason to believe that you're under the influence, you'll be given the option to give a breath sample,” Officer Porter explains. “If not, we will be getting a warrant for your blood and take your blood."
Yellow Cab expects more than 10,000 calls from people who decide to play it safe and hire a taxi.
"You don't want to mess with the weather,” John Bouloubasis with Yellow Cab says customers tell operators. “You don't want to mess with the parking."
He says nearly 600 cabs will be spread around the city and the company’s spreading the word, making sure ads are placed in hundreds of New Year’s Eve parties.
Bouloubasis says ads have even been placed on the alcohol bottles.
"We've been hitting all the bars, hotels, restaurants – any place that serves alcohol, including the liquor stores,” he says.
Yellow Cab says there’s an app for everything – even to call a cab. Users can hail a cab and even track the vehicle to see when it will arrive.
Click here to download the Hail A Cab app.
