389 free rides for July 4 revelers

A group that provides free cab rides to get drunken drivers off the roads provided nearly 400 rides on Independence Day.

The SoberRide program operated by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program provided 389 rides between 10 p.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday. That's a 17 percent increase over the last July Fourth.

The program serves the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs, and operates on holidays when people tend to drink a lot. The group almost had to cancel July Fourth operations because of a lack of funding, but big donors stepped in at the last minute.

-- Associated Press