Tim Roelle says the loss of a loved one to a Highway 211 accident involving a drunk driver two years ago has spurred him to do something about such avoidable tragedies that have touched so many families for so many years.

The 50-year-old Canby man's mission is simple - taking people who have had too much to drink home in his vehicles, rather than having them risk life and limb - theirs and others - by driving home drunk.

"I'm after drunk drivers," Roelle said. "That's all I'm after. I am not a cab . . . If I can take one drunk driver off the streets on any night, I helped."

Roelle's self-described "free shuttle service" in the Canby area is called Designated Driver, and it's been operating since mid-May.

On the first night he ferried two people home, but said demand has been so high since then that he has had to take on additional help.

"We've transported over 150 people already who should not have been driving - and it's growing," he said, adding he assists almost as many female passengers as male passengers.

"I love doing it. I get a lot of fun out of what I see as a great public service."

Roelle and two friends have been driving his vehicles - a 1993 Ford Tempo and two Ford station wagons - to six locations that serve alcohol in Canby, on request by a drinker, by bar staff, or sometimes after an offer from Roelle.

Last weekend, Jody Edwards at Trails End Autos near Barlow Road began loaning Designated Driver three cars from his lot for use at weekends. "I feel the man is gracious, very gracious," Roelle said. "He supports me in what I'm trying to do."

Roelle and his volunteers say they are willing to drop people who have had too much to drink off at their homes, and he even agrees to pick them up in the morning, so they can go and get their car.

"But it's not just drunks I want to keep off the roads," he added.

"Hopefully, we can help cut down on the number of cars out there late at night."

Although the service is free, he does accept gratuities and donations, which just about cover gas, but not insurance, costs. Most people leave a tip for his efforts, he said.

Roelle's philosophy on drunkenness is to the point.

"Anyone who has had more than two drinks all night is a drunk driver because he or she is impaired," he said. "Those are my personal feelings. I just want to help stop the wrecks, help stop the tie-ups in the courts, help stop the hurt it causes to families.

''They can have a much better time if they let me and my people drive because my people cannot drink. If they do, they're gone."

Roelle, who has lived in Canby for four years, said he has been a teetotaler ever since he had one bad drinking experience at age 21.

"Since I'm on heart medication, if I did take any alcohol, it would kill me," he said, in a simple, matter-of-fact manner.

The Designated Driver idea (he has recently registered the service's name with the state) came about through discussions between Roelle, and Spinning Wheel and American Legion management.

Gay Nardi and Mike Nardi, the owners of Mike's Place in northwest Canby the last seven years, are among the bars who put up Roelle's posters and recommend his service.

"He (Roelle) knows a lot of people in the (bar) business, and has sympathy for the situation we're in," Gay Nardi said.

"It's strictly volunteer, and he's available. We feed him hamburgers and he'll accept tips, but it is, for all intents and purposes, free.

''The Spinning Wheel told us about him, and it has been really good. He's doing a real good job and, without a cab company out here, you're up against the creek. It works out good for everybody."

Roelle sees himself as filling a necessary and needed niche, especially in the absence of a local taxi service, which he stresses he is not.

He recounts a recent story where he told a bar patron that he had drunk too much to drive home. He took the man's keys, drove him home, and took him back to his car in the morning.

Was the man angry at being denied his car keys?

"No, he said, 'Thank you' because he said he didn't realize how drunk he was," Roelle answered.

And Medford-born Roelle said part of the reason he is now offering his service locally is precisely because Canby people have already proved to him they want to help others.

The retired computer engineer and his wife of eight years, Cyndi, travelled from their then Prineville home to attend a Slice of Summer concert in 1996. Dizziness set in as he walked to a restroom, and Roelle suddenly suffered a mild stroke.

He was immediately aided by an off-duty nurse and others, as eyewitnesses quickly called 9-1-1 on their cell phones.

"People were in the street stopping traffic, and guiding the emergency vehicles to Wait Park," he said. "Paramedics were soon there, and the initial treatment was so good in Canby that doctors said it stopped more serious damage to my heart.

''It was like everybody in this town knew how to do a team effort. Everything was well controlled. It was fantastically beautiful. I told my wife, 'We're moving here,' and decided we had to live here.

''So, basically, we fell in love with this town and its people."

The Roelles live in Canby with four children. Together, from two previous marriages, they have 13 children, and he alone has 22 grandchildren.

For now, Roelle sees Designated Driver as an easy way to help solve the perennial problem of drunk driving and the agony it can cause accident victims.

"Everyone's starting to get more and more involved," he said. "I've been asked by other locations to start coming to them, like Molalla and Wilsonville. They've heard about this . . . Hopefully, there will be enough tips and donations to keep this thing running."

For more information, or to volunteer as a driver or vehicle sponsor, call Roelle at 266-1875.