OC Attorney Launches July 4th Rideshare Safety Campaign, Advocating for California Voter Awareness

ORANGE COUNTY, CA: On a holiday when the California Highway Patrol routinely arrests more than 1,300 drivers for DUI in a single 30-hour enforcement window, one Orange County personal injury firm has decided to act before those arrests happen. The Accident Network Law Group, led by founding attorney Damoun Yazdi, has announced the launch of its inaugural July 4th Safe Ride Home Program, a community safety initiative that will provide free Lyft credits to Orange County residents celebrating Independence Day 2026.

The program is simple: starting at 6:00 PM on Thursday, July 4th, and running through 3:00 AM on Friday, July 5th, Orange County community members can claim a unique Lyft Events code worth up to $30 per ride. No legal consultation. No solicitation. No fine print. Just a free ride home during the hours when the risk of an alcohol-impaired crash is highest.

But the campaign carries a second, equally significant purpose. Attorney Yazdi is using the safety launch as a platform to warn California voters about Initiative 25-0022, a November 2026 ballot measure backed by Uber, which critics argue is designed to strip away the legal rights of the very people injured in rideshare-related accidents.

“As personal injury lawyers, our job is to protect victims of vehicular negligence and keep our roads safe. The Fourth of July is one of the deadliest holidays on California roads, which is why we are funding real rides to prevent DUIs. But we refuse to run this program through Uber. While we are investing directly in our neighbors’ safety, Uber is spending over $75 million on a ballot initiative designed to strip away the rights of the very people they injure on those same roads.”

– Damoun Yazdi, Founding Attorney, Accident Network Law Group

Why July 4th Is One of the Deadliest Days on California Roads

Independence Day consistently ranks as one of the most dangerous days for alcohol-impaired driving in the United States. NHTSA, MADD, and the California Highway Patrol have all published data confirming what emergency rooms and traffic courts in Orange County see every year: July 4th brings a measurable, predictable spike in drunk driving incidents, injuries, and fatalities.

The California-specific numbers over recent years are stark:

• 2023: California law enforcement arrested approximately 1,224 drivers for DUI during the July 4th enforcement window. Statewide, 68 traffic deaths were recorded over the period.
• 2024: CHP documented approximately 1,336 DUI arrests. Approximately 49 traffic deaths occurred statewide during the July 4th period.
• 2025: CHP arrested 1,311 drivers for DUI during the July 4th maximum enforcement period.

That is roughly 44 DUI arrests per hour, during a holiday when millions of Californians are simultaneously celebrating with alcohol at beaches, parks, and backyard parties with no clear plan for getting home.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Celebrate America Safely” initiative designates the July 4th window as one of the nation’s most dangerous for alcohol-impaired crashes. MADD, which has tracked drunk driving fatalities for more than four decades, echoes that designation in its annual Independence Day public safety advisories: July 4th is not just a statistically dangerous day; it is a preventable one.

Attorney Damoun Yazdi sees these numbers not as abstractions but as the cases that walk through his door. The decision to launch a free ride program in 2026 was, in his framing, less of a marketing strategy than a professional obligation.

Orange County’s High-Risk Zones: Where the Danger Is Concentrated

Orange County does not have a uniform July 4th DUI problem. It has a concentrated one, centered in a handful of cities that happen to represent both the county’s most active nightlife corridors and the core of Accident Network’s service area.

State-level data from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and the California Highway Patrol consistently identify the same five Orange County cities as high-density zones for alcohol-related traffic incidents:

Huntington Beach

Surf City has consistently appeared in OTS data as one of Orange County’s highest-volume cities for DUI arrests, driven by its beach culture, packed bars along Main Street, and massive holiday crowds. On July 4th, Huntington Beach’s beaches draw tens of thousands of visitors who begin drinking early in the day and often have no plan for getting home after dark. The city’s dense concentration of bars along Main Street and adjacent to the pier creates a high-risk corridor that peaks precisely during the hours Accident Network’s program is designed to cover.

Newport Beach

Newport Beach consistently ranks among the highest in California for alcohol-related accidents for cities of its size. The Balboa Peninsula, the harbor, and the yacht club social scene create conditions for sustained alcohol consumption throughout July 4th, followed by impaired driving on limited-egress coastal roads.

Costa Mesa

Home to some of Orange County’s most active bar and restaurant districts, Costa Mesa generates significant DUI arrest volume year-round, with holiday weekends representing peak risk periods.

Santa Ana

As the county seat with a large residential population and active nightlife, Santa Ana contributes meaningfully to OC’s overall DUI statistics across major holiday periods.

Anaheim

Anaheim’s DUI profile is shaped by its combination of tourist infrastructure, major entertainment venues (the Honda Center, Angel Stadium, the Anaheim Resort District) and a local bar scene that draws crowds on major holidays. High traffic volume, out-of-town visitors unfamiliar with local roads, and post-event surges create compounding risk factors on July 4th.

A finding from OC Health Care Agency research on DUI arrestees puts the opportunity gap in sharp relief: only 2% of DUI arrestees in Orange County reported that a server or bartender had offered to help arrange transportation for them before they made the decision to drive. That is a near-complete failure of informal prevention mechanisms, and it identifies exactly the gap a free, pre-arranged Lyft credit is designed to fill.

Program Mechanics: How to Claim Your Free July 4th Lyft Ride

Accident Network’s July 4th Safe Ride Home Program is designed to be frictionless. The mechanics are straightforward and engineered to handle the practical realities of holiday surge pricing.

• The Benefit: A Lyft Events code worth up to $30 per ride for a safe trip home.
• Eligibility: Pickups must originate within Orange County zip codes.
• The Window: Valid from 6:00 PM on July 3rd, 2026, through 3:00 AM on July 5th, 2026.
• How to Claim: On July 3rd or 4th, visit use code 250YEARS directly into the rider’s Lyft app. (Link)
• Availability: Codes are limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.