Make the Smart Choice in South Carolina

South Carolina ranks 9th in the nation for drunk driving deaths, despite ranking 24th in population. There is a lot of room for improvement. And we believe if we bring together our state’s leaders, organizations, and local community members, we can work to make local roads safer– especially late at night.

SC: Smart Choice, a new partnership between South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Uber, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, works toward a state where a safe, reliable ride is always within reach and drunk driving crashes become a thing of the past.

The partnership will build awareness about the high rate of drunk driving in the state and safe alternatives to getting behind the wheel; ensure access to safe rides and reliable transportation options for South Carolina residents and visitors within our service area; and mobilize local community members to join in a coordinated effort towards making South Carolina’s roadways safer.

Over the next year, our goals include:

From 12/8/2015 – 1/1/2016, Uber will donate $2 to MADD for every new rider in South Carolina that signs up using the promo code SCSMARTCHOICE.

Uber launched in South Carolina in 2014 and operates in Charleston, Clemson, Columbia, Greenville-Spartanburg, Hilton Head, and Myrtle Beach.

We’re a reliable option in South Carolina, and thousands of local drivers partner with us across the state. The average wait time for a ride in South Carolina is under 5 minutes, with nearly 90% of rides arriving in 10 minutes or less.

South Carolinians are using Uber more and more as an alternative to drinking and driving. What we’ve seen when looking at our data by time of day since launch is that Uber requests peak right around the same time as last call in South Carolina, when most alcohol-related crash fatalities occur.

Uber is a safe alternative to getting behind the wheel, and cities and states around the country have already felt the impact of this safe, affordable, and reliable option.  

The results of a study conducted by Temple University indicate that the entrance of uberX results in a 3.6% – 5.6% decrease in the rate of motor vehicle homicides per quarter in the state of California.

We estimate that the entrance of Uber in Seattle caused the number of arrests for DUI to decrease by more than 10%. And in Baton Rouge, DUI arrests are down nearly 18% in the year since Uber entered the market.

Finally, a study conducted by Uber and MADD showed that people’s mindsets around drinking and driving are shifting: