Meet the Kelowna man who drove several people home on New Year’s Eve

For Kelowna’s Rene Doiron, his initial holiday plans didn’t work out, but that didn’t stop him from doing a lot of driving.

That included work with the homeless community around Christmas, and as a last-minute idea, he decided to offer New Year’s Eve rides to anyone who needed one.

“I know there’s a need especially on New Year’s Eve for people to get home. Cabs tend to be two to three hour wait times,” he told Kelowna10.

Doiron, who runs his own general contracting business, said he has personally experienced the loss of loved ones and family members due to drinking and driving. He saw this as an opportunity, and posted his offer on a local Facebook community page on Dec. 31.

“The biggest reason I wanted to do this was to mostly keep people safe. If I took one drunk driver off the road to help prevent drinking and driving and devastating a family over the holidays, then I did what I set out to do.”

On the big night, he drove upwards of 30 people, picking up and dropping off residents in Kelowna, West Kelowna, and even Peachland. Some people offered a donation.

It was the first time Doiron had ever done something like this. Some might question whether driving around intoxicated people would pose a risk to his truck’s interior, but, he said it all worked out.

“It was all very positive. At the end of the day, it was a great feeling,” he explained. “Everybody was very appreciative and very patient. I was busy. I didn’t leave anybody stranded that contacted me, they all got a ride.”

Doiron said if there are no plans of his own next year, he intends to do it again.