The Government of Saskatchewan is testing out new ways to try and stop drinking and driving before it happens with new innovative methods.

The pilot programs are a collaborative effort between the Government of Saskatchewan, Crown corporations, law enforcement, and graduate students, which all offered insight on how to cut down on Saskatchewan's drunk driving rates.

The five initiatives are as follows - Drive Dollars, Liquor Permit Regulatory Review, Positive Ticketing, Sobering Messages, and Packaging Innovation.

Drive Dollars will see bars having a personal 'taxi tab' that customers can pay into as they order drinks, partially matched by the government up to $1.

The Liquor Permit Regulatory Review approach adds two new questions based on how to ensure that guests have a safe way home on liquor permit applications, hoping to provide a safer environment for events that serve alcohol like a wedding or a dance.

Positive ticketing is a process carried out by police officers to recognize sober or designated drivers by giving them an opportunity to win one of 25 $150 VISA gift cards by using #careaboutimpaired.

Sobering Messages sees police officers make nightly visits to bars to encourage visitors to plan a safe ride now, and will also try and have the same presence over social media with #howareyougettinghome.

Packaging Innovation will try and make purchases of alcohol from liquor stores think of the tragic effects that drinking and driving can have by featuring children's drawings on paper bags.

Minister Responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan Tina Beaudry-Mellor said she enjoyed seeing the collaborative effort between multiple different organizations.

Most of these ideas will be put into place in Moose Jaw, Regina, and Saskatoon, but the Liquor Permit Regulatory Review will also apply to the Swift Current area of southern Saskatchewan.

"What is exciting for me about it is that there are people from multiple ministries working together with people from Crown corporations, with graduate students, and with law enforcement from a number of different areas to collaborate, come up with things that are innovative and then accelerate those and then we'll test and see what works and what doesn't, and we'll try to implement those that work"

Beaurdy-Mellor also said that if someone you know is about to drink and drive, you should not let them.

"I'm hoping its effective for the people around them as well, because sometimes people will say, 'No I'm fine, I can drive' and that's when you need a friend to intervene and grab their keys and say 'No you really shouldn't drive, it's not good' and it makes it incumbent not only on the individual to make good decisions but also on the people around the individual as well."

The pilot programs plan to be in effect from the August long weekend to labour day.