The Benefits of Being the Designated Driver

Being a designated driver is a blast, which I have been doing for over a year. As the designated driver type I get to enjoy the evening out and know everyone gets home safe. It wouldn’t be right to say I don’t drink; I just don’t do it often, normally if I am relaxing at home with a bottle of wine and good company, or enjoying the Las Vegas Strip. Going to a bar and drinking doesn’t really appeal to me and the drinks get very expensive very quickly.

Of course I don’t have to tell you the top two reasons to have a designated driver: Accidents and DUI’s both can quickly ruin an otherwise awesome evening out. Maybe you yourself enjoy having a few drinks with the boys or the ladies; there is nothing wrong with that. If you are a drinker and thinking about being a designated driver get your friends to set up a schedule and rotate out the position. Either way the driver will usually have just as much fun or more then, the people who are drinking.

Here are the suggestions I have to being a successful designated driver. First off get a mini-van or other multi-person vehicle. Charge each person 5 dollars, if you get six people in the van you should be able to fill up the tank at the end of the night. Pick up each person at their home (if they live out of the city charge extra, trust me it will be cheaper than a cab or a ticket).

Before hitting the club you should all grab dinner, there are two reasons for this, number one is the fact that if you eat, the group will be full and drink less, and handle the liquor better. Second it starts the evening off with some sober fun, but yes drinks can be added to dinner, you have the keys and they are all going with you.

As you move from the dinner to the club, catch a gage of each of the people, you should know them by now and might be aware of some possible conflicts to watch for. Being sober, you can usually defuse these. Drunken people tend to be like lambs and follow each other, if there is someone sober leading the way, you can have fun, flirt, play and still not get into too much trouble. You shouldn’t be thinking you are a babysitter either; you are there to have fun too.

Myself, I like to go a little crazy and release the tensions of the week, so I act a little tipsy myself, and hit the floor or the Karaoke stage. Drunken people don’t really care how you sound or act as long as you don’t make them feel you are making fun of them. I always feel that if I get a little crazy, my friends are going to follow suit and before you know it everyone is being kind of crazy and having a blast.

Here comes the next best part of being the designated driver, pull out the camera. I have “The Hangover” photos each time we go out. My favorite moments were when a male friends joined a bunch of girls up on the top of a bar, dancing and goofing off, the photos were classic. Another great time included a good friend in her twenties getting serenaded by an older grandfather Santa Claus type. Moments like this come up each week and you will be ready to catch them. Other cameras tend to come out once I start snapping pictures and soon everyone is catching those funny and sometimes incriminating photos to enjoy later.

Those of course are not the only perks to being a designated driver, most clubs offer free soda / coffee to the driver. I usually have a rum and coke sans the rum.

As the evening wraps up, you can gather your party together with…well if they are like mine it takes a while to get them all to the car. If anyone has met someone who they are wanting some alone time with, have the club call a cab.

Now with everyone loaded up in the car, the singing and dancing can start, as you drive home laughing or shaking your head at your friends as you go. Making sure everyone gets home safe is reward in itself, all the other fun is just the icing on the cake.