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Service offers alternative for those who need a designated driver

Date Posted: Tue, Apr 8 2014, The Akron Legal News
It’s a scenario that is all too common: A person goes out to have one drink and ends up having a few more with a car waiting outside. Many people opt to drive back even when they are not quite sure of themselves because they don’t know what else to do. But what if instead they could pick up the phone and request a sober driver to come and get them or two sober drivers, one to bring their car home?

Several years ago, Solon natives Alexa Milkovich and Arthur Simanovsky found themselves pondering such questions as two young college graduates who wanted to enjoy “nights on the town” and not be concerned about having to get behind the wheel afterwards. The result is now a highly successful company known as BeMyDD (Be My Designated Driver).

“Everyone is familiar with the idea of having a designated driver when they go out in a group but Arthur wanted to expand the concept further by starting an actual service,” said Milkovich. “We wanted something that would be affordable for people of all age groups who wanted to leave the suburbs and go out for a night.”

“Alexa and I both had business backgrounds and were looking for an entrepreneurial endeavor,” said Simanovsky, president and chief executive officer at BeMyDD. “We thought our company offered a positive business model that would help the community and assist in employment as well since we use local drivers as subcontractors.”

“What most people don’t realize is that drivers get into trouble not because they are totally impaired but because they’ve had one or two drinks and they’re blood alcohol content (BAC) is just above 0.08 percent,” said Milkovich.

According to statistics from DUI-USA.DrinkDriving.org, in 2008 356 people were killed in Ohio in accidents where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.08 percent or above and 415 died in cases where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.01 percent or above. Nationally, 13,846 persons were killed in accidents where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.01 percent or above. As of March 17, the Ohio State Highway Patrol had already recorded 4,517 OVI (over the limit) enforcement stops this year.

Milkovich and Simanovsky first tested their business idea on St. Patrick’s Day in 2010 in Solon setting up an operation at 5325 Naiman Pkwy. Today BeMyDD is in 74 major cities across 31 states, employing eight people full time and over 2,000 drivers nationally on a contractor basis.

“We are coast to coast,” said Milkovich. “We are in every major city in Ohio. There are other small companies like ours but nothing as big as us.”

The company offers two services: The first allows a person to reserve a driver for the day or evening. “The person will come to your home, leave their vehicle and take you in your own car anywhere you want to go for an hourly rate which is not based on distance or the number of people,” said Milkovich. In Cleveland the rate is $16 per hour.

The other option is for those who are not confident they can make it back home. “You can call us and we will get you and your car back home,” she said. “Two drivers arrive, one drives your car back; the other takes you.” The rate for this service is $25 plus mileage fees ($2.95 a mile for the first 10 miles in Cleveland; $2.45 a mile after).

The company slogan is “We Drive Your Car So You Don’t Have To.” Milkovich admitted the service costs a little more than a cab but said, “We are also getting your car back home. If a cab picks you up you still have to figure out how to get your own car back.”

How might one go about requesting a driver? There are several ways: Go to www.bemydd.com, download the GPS-enabled mobile app or call 1-877-U-BEMYDD.

Milkovich said BeMyDD has not done a lot of advertising. They have a Facebook page and have done some radio commercials but they rely primarily on word of mouth from previous customers and promotions from national sponsors, Anheuser-Busch and wine and spirits distributor, Brown-Forman.

“Our sponsors often pass out cards at events that contain discounts,” said Milkovich.

There are few setup costs for the owners when they do venture into a new city since there is no physical location; essentially all they need is a state license and a group of contract drivers.

“We interview our drivers and do extensive background checks,” said Milkovich. “We don’t take sex offenders or anyone with felonies or DUIs and they cannot have had more than two moving violations in the past two years.

“Many are former limo drivers and they must show up in a shirt and tie.”

She said the drivers use their own cars to get to the customer’s location. “They do not have the customer in their car at any point because we do not have licensing like a cab,” said Milkovich. However, the company does carry an $11 million auto policy to ensure a risk-free experience for customers.

In addition to sober driving, Milkovich said many people use the service to go to the airport, for corporate events or to go to the doctor. “If you are having minor surgery and no one can pick you up the driver will wait until you are done and take you home,” she said.

“One of the things our model allows us to do is expand easily.”

Frank Gallucci III, a partner at Plevin & Gallucci, first learned of BeMyDD three years ago while attending an annual H.E.L.P. Malawi event.

“I was a board member and the organization used the service. Since then I’ve used it a number of times personally to go to and from ball games. Our firm has also used it in conjunction with firm events to get people back and forth safely.”

“Our long-term goal is to get into every single state and go to Canada eventually becoming international,” said Milkovich. “Short term we just want to get into as many cities as possible.”