Alcohol/Drugs

Alcohol/Drugs Poisoning

(Scroll down if you are refusing service for possession of alcohol/drugs)

ASOSU SafeRide will pick up passengers, without judgment, and will be prepared to handle situations that may arise while transporting an intoxicated person. An intoxicated person will not be denied service unless they are intoxicated to a point of concern for their physical safety, in which case staff should refer to the chart below for steps to take to address. Passengers:

·       Must be coherent

·       Able to enter the vehicle without assistance

·       Able to verbally confirm their destination or ONID

If a passenger shows signs of alcohol poisoning or is unable to do any of the actions listed above, again staff should start the alcohol response steps below.

Transporting incoherent individuals or individuals who may have alcohol poisoning is not encouraged. It is a liability for ASOSU SafeRide and Oregon State University, not to mention the risk to employee and customer safety. 

Step 1: Assess

• Is the rider showing signs of alcohol poisoning? (see chart above to determine)

• If yes, go to Step 2

• If no, ensure the rider makes it to their drop off safely

• If you are not sure, radio to the Nightly Operations Leader for a consultation.

REMEMBER: If a rider cannot get into the vehicle on their own, we cannot give them a ride!

Step 2: Call 911

If a rider is showing signs of alcohol poisoning, we need to call for a medical evaluation. Call 911 and say:

"Hello, I work for OSU SafeRide and believe a rider is showing signs of alcohol poisoning.  Can you please send medical help to assess them?"

Do not leave the scene until approved to do so by the Nightly Operations Leader. It is important to stay with the rider until medical help arrives.

  Step 3: Radio the Leader

As soon as you are able to, radio the Nightly Operations Leader to notify them of what has happened.

If 911 was called, inform the Leader of that, and that you will be waiting at your location until the medical help arrives.

Once done, move on to step 4.

Step 4: Plan

If you have other riders in your vehicle, who do not want to wait for the incident to resolve, radio the Nightly Operations Leader to coordinate an alternate plan for their ride.

If you have other rides in your itinerary, again, radio to coordinate with the Nightly Operations Leader to redistribute your rides to other vehicles and turn off your Auto Assign.

Once done, move on to step 5.

Step 5: Leave the Scene

It is okay to drive away only AFTER medical help has taken over the situation AND the Nightly Operations Leader has given you approval to do so.

If you have any riders who waited, drop them off before continuing to Step 6.

Step 6: Incident Report

The last step is either the Driver or the Navigator needs to complete an incident report form. The link is below.

If there are so many details that it would be difficult to write the report on the iPad, report back to the SafeRide office to write the IR on the computer.

Possession of Alcohol/Drugs

As the vehicles we driver are property of Oregon State University, drugs and alcohol are not allowed inside of any of them.

Step 1: Assess

Is a rider attempting to bring alcohol or drugs into the vehicle?

OR are you driving and you perceive that a rider brought alcohol or drugs into the vehicle?

NOTE: It does not matter if the alcohol is unopened or if they are over 21!

Step 2: Ask

Before getting into vehicle- Politely ask rider to dispose of the alcohol or drugs before entering the vehicle.

If they are already inside- Pull over to a safe location and politely ask the rider to dispose of the alcohol or drugs. Ideally, try for a location where they can safely dispose rather than leaving on the side of the road.

If they comply, you are good to continue the ride to their drop off location.

Step 3: Refuse Service

If the rider will not dispose of the alcohol or drugs before entering, or will not dispose after pulling over, you will need to refuse service.  If you deny service, go to Step 4.

NOTE: It can be detrimental to SafeRide for us to allow this behavior slide.  Motor Pool as a strict policy on no drugs or alcohol inside their vehicles. Not following this policy would result in SafeRide being unable to continue to rent from Motor Pool.

Step 4: Radio the Leader

As soon as you are able to, radio the Nightly Operations Leader to notify them of what has happened.

Step 5: Incident Report

Only do this step if you had to refuse service or you think the Coordinator should follow up on the behaviors exhibited by the rider

The last step is either the Driver or the Navigator needs to complete an incident report form. The link is below.

If there are so many details that it would be difficult to write the report on the iPad, report back to the SafeRide office to write the IR on the computer.