Designated Dawgs operates during the Fall and Spring academic semesters on most Thursday and Friday nights. We ask volunteers to start at 9:30 p.m. and provide rides from 10 p.m. until 2:15 a.m.
We ask volunteers to show up in the lobby outside of the Engagement Leadership Services office (ELS) at the Tate Student Center ground floor level.
Our 3 volunteer positions are driver, navigator, and dispatcher. You will be trained on how to do these positions when you come to volunteer.
Important Numbers:
Emergencies (Police/Ambulance) 911
Athens-Clarke County Police Department – (706)-613-3345
Ireland Chancey (Executive Director) – (912)-670-4749
Accidents: What Do I Do When a Car Accident Has Occurred?
- Do NOT move the car.
- Stay calm. Do not admit fault in any circumstance.
- Call the police: 911
- Call a Designated Dawgs executive member.
- Use the camera in the car kit or a cell phone to take pictures of the accident.
- Fill out an accident form.
- Wait for police and for the Designated Dawgs executive member to arrive.
Alcohol: Designated Dawgs 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
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 Designated Dawgs and a risk to employee and customer safety. If a passenger has alcohol and/or drugs on their person, kindly ask them to discard of it before the ride begins. If they do not, refuse service.
- Is the rider showing signs of alcohol poisoning? 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 van on their own, we cannot give them a ride!
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
Disruptive Rider: If you are concerned around someone’s behavior in the van, whether that be physical actions or words being said, please ask them to refrain from the behavior. You can include why this action or language is problematic, if you feel comfortable.
Step 1: Ask them to change their behavior. Did the behavior change? If yes, continue on with the ride as normal. If no, inform the rider that you will have to stop and drop them off before the ride is complete if they do not change their behavior. Ultimately, we cannot allow them to continue to impact the van environment.
Step 3: Refuse Service. If the rider will not stop the problematic behavior, pull over to a safe location and request that the rider leave the vehicle. If the rider will not leave and will not change their behavior then you should call CPD/DPS to assist in diffusing the situation.
Step 4: 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 what the status is of the situation.
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.
Concerned for Rider’s Safety:
Step 1: Ask the person who you are concerned about how they are doing and if they are with the people they would like to be with. If the rider states that they are okay, believe them, and continue with the ride as normal. If they are not, drop off the other riders first and the person you are concerned about last. Do not ask the person you are concerned with where they would like to go until the van is empty of all other riders.
Step 2: Support. This is an exception we will make to our pick up/drop off policy. In this situation, the safety of the rider is more important than following the order of your itinerary. If, for whatever reason, a verbal confrontation occurs, assert that this is the new plan for the night. If, for whatever reason, a physical confrontation occurs, pull over to a safe location, remove the keys/Nav iPad/Radio and exit the vehicle. Encourage any other riders to leave the van as well and then call CPD/DPS for assistance.
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 what the status is of the situation.
Step 4: Incident Report. The last step is either the Driver or the Navigator needs to complete an incident report form. The link is below.
Weather/Car Problems:
Step 1: Pull Over. If you notice that a flat tire has occurred during the shift or that weather conditions have made it that you are unable to drive safely; pull over immediately to a safe location, where you are not blocking vehicle or pedestrian traffic. Try to be in a legal parking spot. The van will have to be left for the night so it cannot be just pulled to the side of a road. You can drive a small distance on a flat tire, but you should avoid any driving that is not unnecessary as that would damage the rim of the vehicle.
Step 2: Radio the Leader. Unfortunately, in this situation, we cannot continue service in this van. You are not expected to change the tire and should refrain doing so.
As soon as you are able to, radio the Nightly Operations Leader to notify them of what has happened. The Nightly Operational Leader will order a ride to have you picked up and returned back to the office.
Step 3: Plan. If you have riders in the van or in your itinerary, work with the Nightly Operations Leader to have another van complete those rides.
While waiting, please gather all operations materials (Ad iPad, Safer Sex Spot materials, personal belongings, etc.)
Step 4: Incident Report
The last step is either the Driver or the Navigator needs to complete an incident report form.
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