A slogan on billboards throughout Pennsylvania reads: "DUI. You can't afford it." Unfortunately, the opposite is true in State College today.

A student said her friends recently had to pay $50 before a taxi driver would let them ride because they were very intoxicated.

Lucky for all of us, this doesn't happen often. But it shouldn't happen at all, because the next time a potential cab customer doesn't have $50, he or she might view getting behind the wheel as a more viable option.

Cab drivers can fine riders who vomit in their vehicles, but admittedly it is difficult to collect that money.

Because of the complications that hamper collecting from a drunken rider, some drivers simply won't let intoxicated riders into their cabs.

For a cab driver to want his or her car to remain clean is understandable. But what's not understandable is the refusal of a safe ride home to an intoxicated passenger.

The risks of leaving a drunken person at curbside far outweigh the damages that could result from vomiting inside the taxi.

An intoxicated potential passenger could, after being refused a ride, decide to drive home in his or her own car.

And if that passenger was looking for a cab ride home in the first place, there is a good chance home is too far a distance to walk.

Once that potential passenger decides to drive, innocent people from pedestrians to the very cab driver who refused the ride are at risk.

The intoxicated driver could run up onto the curb or crash into the taxi that wouldn't allow a ride.

Because a cab driver didn't want a mess in his or her taxi, innocent people could easily be killed.

The next time a cab driver is approached by an intoxicated potential passenger, he or she should think twice before turning the customer away.

At the same time, however, more sober friends should accompany those who are too drunk to stay coherent in the cabs. Not only will those students be helpful to their friends, they'll make transporting the passenger easier for the driver.

The money that driver loses in cleaning up the taxi is nowhere near as valuable as human life.