All Cylinders

Getting the scoot

by John Ross

SAFE AT HOME PHOTO

Matt Tremblay, Brandon Dean and Larry Sollanek of Safe at Home

Taxi rides are fine when you know you're gonna get crunk, but what happens when have one too many cosmos and don't want to leave your car behind overnight?

Starting the week of August 20, Safe at Home Designated Driver Service will offer a new way for many central Ohio residents to avoid drunk driving and get home safely—with their rides.

"In our market research, we found that one of the top reasons why people drive when they shouldn't is that they need their car the next day," said co-owner Larry Sollanek, noting the success of similar programs in Louisville, Atlanta and Dallas.

The company's service hinges on the Di Blasi R7E, a scooter developed by an Italian engineer in the late 1970s. The 60-pound bike runs on gas, can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour and folds into a small carrying case.

If you're too drunk to drive, a Safe at Home employee on a Di Blasi meets you at your car, goes over some paperwork, stashes the motorbike inside, and then drives you and your car back home. A driver's license, proof of insurance and cash payments are required at pickup.

"You might not like a stranger driving your new Mercedes," Sollanek said. "But if drive and get picked up by the cops, you're not going to be driving that Mercedes for a couple years."

Safe at Home Designated Driver Service

614-519-9050

Web: safeathomedds.com

Currently, the service area runs from Powell south to I-70, and from the Franklin County line east to I-71. That includes Hilliard, Upper Arlington, Dublin, Grandview and other areas where driving to bars is common and cabs are scarcer than in more urban areas.

"Expansion will go clockwise around the city when we get more scooters," Sollanek added.

Service is available daily from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., and pickups during other hours can be arranged for weddings, corporate outings and other events. Costs are comparable to a round-trip taxi fare—$35 for service-area destinations within Franklin County and $45 for ones outside.

August 16th, 2007