JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 As Jacksonville prepares to ring in 2026, local authorities are reminding New Year\u2019s Eve revelers: celebrate responsibly or face the consequences. <\/p>\n
With just days remaining until the countdown begins, the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office is ramping up its presence on the streets. <\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials have confirmed that specialized DUI units will be stationed throughout the city to intercept impaired drivers. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a safety concern for our whole community,\u201d JSO spokesperson Christian Hancock said. \u201cTrust me, it is just not worth it. It\u2019s not worth it for anybody to get behind the wheel.\u201d <\/p>\n
The stakes are high. During last year\u2019s New Year\u2019s period, JSO arrested approximately 20 individuals for driving under the influence. Police warn that even a single drink can impair judgment, urging citizens to rely on designated drivers or rideshare apps. <\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve had one, that\u2019s too many,\u201d Hancock added. \u201cMake sure you have somebody there that can drive you, phone a friend, or call a rideshare.\u201d <\/p>\n To make that decision easier, the Jacksonville law firm Farah & Farah is stepping in to remove the financial barrier to a safe commute. For the 10th consecutive year, the firm is offering free $50 vouchers for Uber or taxi rides on New Year\u2019s Eve. <\/p>\n The program has already provided nearly 17,000 safe rides over the last decade. For the attorneys at the firm, the initiative is a proactive response to the devastation they see daily in their practice. <\/p>\n \u201cAs personal injury lawyers, we see the results of drunk drivers,\u201d attorney Khalil Farah said. \u201cWe figure, why do people drink and drive? Often, it\u2019s because they don\u2019t have a way to get to and from wherever they\u2019re going. If we can provide that credit so they don\u2019t have to drive, hopefully it makes the community safer.\u201d <\/p>\n Residents planning to celebrate are encouraged to claim their vouchers in advance through the Farah & Farah Safe Rides website to ensure they have a plan in place before the first toast of 2026. <\/p>\n They say you can load the voucher to your app now, and if the system seems to have run out, check back the next day as they reload vouchers. <\/p>\n New Year\u2019s Eve Safe Ride Home | Farah & Farah<\/a> <\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 As Jacksonville prepares to ring in 2026, local authorities are reminding New Year\u2019s Eve revelers:…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":478812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[12189,5229,178600,216878,22787,3188,723,103698,11561,7310,155630,8423,425,215865,216879,216877,4009,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-478811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action_news","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-farrah","11":"tag-ferra","12":"tag-fhp","13":"tag-fl","14":"tag-florida","15":"tag-florida_highway_patrol","16":"tag-jack","17":"tag-jacksonville","18":"tag-jessica_salinas","19":"tag-jso","20":"tag-local","21":"tag-new_year","22":"tag-new_years","23":"tag-new_years_eve","24":"tag-uber","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-of-america","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115805647322193295","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}