Ride Guy service should be praised

I am writing this letter in my capacity as a board member for The Ride Guy organization.

The Ride Guy, Inc., is an IRS recognized nonprofit organization and not any single individual. Our organization, founded in 2009, is incorporated and has received its 501(c)(3) status.

The Ride Guy provides transportation from area homes, lodging, businesses, bars and restaurants with no fees assessed in an effort to reduce the incidence of intoxicated driving in our community.

Our board of directors consists of community members who strongly support The Ride Guy mission.

The Ride Guy, Inc. mission initiative is to educate the general public on the dangers of drunk driving and to provide community solutions that are supported by the free will and donations of the community, thereby decreasing the number of intoxicated drivers on public roads.

The Ride Guy is a volunteer-driven organization. In 2013 and 2014 our volunteers gave over 46,000 rides without charging a fee, drove over 118,000 miles in their own vehicles and volunteered over 9,100 hours of their time.

These exceptional community members deserve our praise and support. The Ride Guy organization is dedicated to ensuring the safety of the community through regular safety checks of our volunteer’s vehicles and background checks of all our volunteer drivers.

Intoxicated driving in Montana is a problem. The Ride Guy is extremely concerned with intoxicated driving in Montana.

Montana, and its visitors, continue to struggle with a drinking and driving culture.

Montana had the nation’s highest DUI fatality rate in 2012.

Whitefish has a celebratory and vacation based economy with 3 million visits occurring a year. These statewide visitors strengthened the economy by spending $876,130,000 in bars, restaurants and lodging in 2011.

In the Whitefish area the intoxicated driving situation has been exacerbated by a lack of reliable public transportation during times of peak demand such as bar close or during community celebrations.

Available public transportation options do not consistently run at the needed times or are overwhelmed by demand when they are running. The need for reliable and safe transportation is clear.

The Ride Guy, Inc., assists in a broad range of circumstances.

The Ride Guy is called by individuals, businesses, police, EMS, North Valley Hospital, etc.

Patrons range from somebody who needs a ride home from the ER (because they were brought in by ambulance and have no way home), to people the Whitefish Police Department notice and identify as a person who needs assistance.

Many times our volunteers manage situations that go unnoticed, or unaddressed, by others; like the many intoxicated people who leave bars without arrangements for safe transportation.

By way of example, in December of 2014, a Ride Guy volunteer was patrolling late on a Sunday night and found somebody sleeping in the bed of their truck with no coat in below zero weather. The Ride Guy volunteer called 911 and, as stated by the responding Whitefish Police officer, likely saved this person’s life.

There are numerous situations like this that the volunteers at The Ride Guy perform regularly that go unrecognized.

The Ride Guy is a mission driven nonprofit organization, governed by a board of citizens responsive to the community that they serve, based on the values of altruism, community and diversity operated in an ethical and prudent manner.

We invite the citizens of our community to come out and see what a challenging but valuable, and needed, service The Ride Guy provides for this wonderful community.

— David Smith, of Columbia Falls, is president of The Ride Guy board of directors