By Sue Tiffin

Published Dec. 28 2017

On New Year’s Eve the roads will be safer as Haliburton County residents take up an offer from Hudson Henderson Insurance that’s hard to refuse.

For the past several years the insurance company has offered cab vouchers worth $25 on New Year’s Eve to anyone who might be impaired after celebrating and would be safer in a taxi than on the road. This year they’ve bumped the voucher to $50.
“Darryl (Hudson) just thought with all the push with drinking and driving… so what can we do?” said Margaret Reiss operations manager. “We encourage people to use it if they’re going anywhere it’s there.”

The voucher is accepted by drivers through Hyland Taxi which is the lone taxi company that services the county.

“I think it’s a good idea” said Marty Grant of Hyland Taxi. “With the police and the fines and the repercussions it’s not the same as it was in the ’50s or ’60s where the cop would tell my dad to take the car home and stay there for the night. Now they take you to jail and I think that has discouraged people from drinking and driving. Kids today they’ve been trained and educated they don’t think about drinking and driving. But you still see people leaving a party who can hardly open up their door. The coupon helps. It’s an extra little bonus. You don’t have to pay for it.”

Last year Grant said about 10 coupons were used. Reiss acknowledged that every coupon used represents a potentially unsafe driver being off the roads.
“It’s something you try to do for the community” said Reiss. “Definitely at this time of year most people are going to go and have a drink somewhere so save yourself getting in a car.”
Coupons should be printed in advance of a cab ride and can be found at hudsonhenderson.com. Hyland Taxi can be reached at 705-457-1777. The taxi company is currently hiring drivers for New Year’s Eve and throughout the year.