Jerry Adams, 34, is one person who will be working to see that intoxicated drivers don't drive home drunk.

The Runnemede resident, who is a former bartender and nightclub manager, said he has witnessed the damage caused by a DUI arrest. Even worse, one friend lost his life while driving drunk.

Now, Adams, his daughter, and a few start-up partners are working to eliminate the problem one driver at a time through Sober Sam — a designated driver service for South Jersey bar patrons who have one too many.

Sober Sam charges a $25 to $30 fee, depending on the time, plus a mileage fee, and drives customers home in their own cars. Another Sober Sam employee follows in a different car to pick up the Sober Sam driver.

"It didn't seem like a difficult problem to solve," Adams said last week inside Taylors Bar and Grill in Cherry Hill, one of the bars that the Sober Sam crew patrols.

The response since launching the business last month has been great, Adams said.

"It's almost like a guaranteed no DUI. It's not a hard sell," he said.

With one of the year's biggest drinking nights tonight, Adams said he was expecting a flurry of activity.

Taylor's director of marketing, Ryan Smith, said the night before Thanksgiving is usually the biggest night of the year for the bar as college students home for the holiday meet up with friends.

"It's one of those days when everyone is back in town," Taylor said.

Smith said all of his wait staff are trained to identify when a customer has had too much and do whatever possible, like calling a cab, to make sure a patron doesn't drive dunk.

The decision to drive or call for help, however, is the customers.

Smith said he sees the added option of Sober Sam as a positive thing.

"I think it's amazing," he said. "It's a very neat concept. You want to wake up with your car the next day."

Authorities say the risk for those that do drink and drive over the holiday season will be great, as police across the state will be cracking down on drunken drivers.

Police departments across the tri-county area will be joining with those across New Jersey in the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety's annual "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" campaign.

"This is a big push because the holidays are traditionally a more dangerous time for alcohol," said division director Pam Fischer.

The effort runs from Dec. 7 to the beginning of 2010.

Last year, nearly 280 people in the tri-county area were charged with driving under the influence during the campaign, according to state data.

"We want people to celebrate and enjoy (the holidays) but we want them to be responsible about it," Fischer said.

While Sober Sam service is currently limited to the South Jersey area and very limited areas in Philadelphia, Adams said he hopes to make it a national chain.

"When someone needs it, we're here," Adams said.