In the News

Report Impaired Drivers
The Calgary Herald
November 8, 2009

You've probably seen it yourself. The driver whose car is weaving down the road, driving at inconsistent speeds or stopping way before or after the stop lines.

Do you call 9-1-1 to report it? You think the driver might be impaired, but you decide it's not worth bothering the police so you drive home and don't give it a second thought.

Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common occurrence in Calgary.

However, the devastation that impaired drivers may cause should be enough of an incentive to call 9-1-1 if you spot someone who you believe is driving while impaired.

You could save someone's life and prevent the heartache that goes with the tragedy of losing a loved one.

This is the primary objective of a new campaign launched in Calgary in October 2009. The Report Impaired Drivers (RID) campaign encourages people to call 9-1-1 if they see someone they believe is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The RID campaign was created by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and is supported by The Calgary Police Service, The City of Calgary and Alberta Health Services.

With advertisements on roadside signs, transit buses, the Pengrowth Saddledome and on local radio, MADD Calgary is hoping to increase awareness of the issue.

It is also anticipated the campaign will increase the perception that there is a higher likelihood of being caught and will therefore act as a deterrent to impaired driving.

In other areas of the country where the campaign has been running, arrest rates for impaired driving have increased by 30 per cent.

Citing impaired driving as the No. 1 criminal cause of death in Canada, Denise Dubyk of MADD Calgary says enough is enough.

"We will not put up with this senseless, preventable crime any longer.

"It's about protecting yourself, it's about protecting your family, it's about protecting your community," she says, urging people to use the 9-1-1 system.

In the last five years, over 40 per cent of all fatal collisions in Calgary involved an impaired driver. Across Canada, an average of four people are killed every day and 207 are injured as a result of impaired driving.

Still grieving the loss of her 21-year-old son Brent, who was killed in an impaired driving collision three years ago, Aleta Neville hopes the campaign will prevent other families from going through the pain her family has endured.

"It's the worst club in the world. A club of parents who have lost a child through the actions of an impaired driver," says Neville.

What makes it worse is that she knows that the death of her son was 100 per cent preventable.

"Court documents show that witnesses saw the accused driver who killed Brent and felt that he was impaired. We only wish they had reported him and possibly prevented the crash that took his life."

"The police cannot be everywhere. But with the public support calling 9-1-1, you will provide police with the opportunity of apprehending these impaired drivers before they kill or injure other innocent victims.

"Hopefully, it (the campaign) will save other parents from suffering the life sentence that we, and countless other families, are burdened with because of the loss of our precious loved ones," says Neville.

In a recent study, nearly half of those surveyed said they would not call police to report an impaired driver, as they deemed it either wasn't important enough or it was the job of the police.

However, the Calgary Police Service is urging the public to make the call and treat a suspected impaired driver as a crime in progress.

Police Chief Rick Hanson says all reports of impaired driving will be investigated.

"We are not asking the public to put themselves in any danger. All we need is as much information as possible including the vehicle description, location, direction of travel and preferably a license plate -we will take care of the rest," says Hanson.

"Taking these drivers off the road is a priority for us. So far in 2009 we have charged over 2,100 people with impaired driving and issued nearly as many 24-hour suspensions. However, we need your help.

"We need you to be the eyes and ears of the Service and report anyone who you believe may be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, so we can take them off the road before they destroy the lives of others."