Calling a cab or a sober designated driver is the smartest way to get home if your own driving abilities are impaired. That's a message police departments across the province have been stressing for years and now they're backing the message with a prepaid calling card handed to drivers stopped in R.I.D.E checks.

Each card bears the logos of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, the Province of Ontario, the Association of Canadian Distillers and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. The card also asks its new owner, "Please do not drink and drive."

"One of the ways to use this card is to use a pay telephone to summon a sober driver to give you a lift home after you've been drinking alcoholic beverages," says Chief Julian Fantino, President of the O.A.C.P. and Chief of York Regional Police.

The card also underlines the fact that many rewards come from the R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) Program in which police stop vehicles searching for intoxicated drivers. The cards offer rebates and other rewards to cardholders from sponsors including Choice Hotels, Medieval Times, Via Rail, Caseys, East Side Mario's and Canada Dry.

"We are making the point that the R.I.D.E. program has great rewards for all of us. The greatest single reward is that it removes impaired drivers from our roads and prevents the deaths, injuries and property damage they cause," says Julian Fantino.

The phone card giveaway will be part of the province wide R.I.D.E. program all year with 250,000 cards distributed by municipal and provincial police. By the end of the summer, police across Ontario will have handed out 145,000 cards to drivers they have checked.

Each card comes in a folder that contains safe driving reminders from Chief Julian Fantino and the provincial Solicitor General. Card sponsors will display posters and signs in hotels, entertainment areas, bars, restaurants and more than 600 L.C.B.O. outlets.

Chief Fantino says, "police are working together with the private sector and the province to reduce the terrible toll caused in our community by drinking and driving. We're making it easier for people to get home without driving while impaired. One look at our phone card proves there are a lot of people working towards this common goal. One call with this card could be the one that saves a life."