‘We can’t be numb’: Sask. drivers can’t forget the impaired-driving message: MADD

“It’s specified a elemental problem. Yet we don’t look to learn.”

Bonny Stevenson, president of MADD Saskatoon, speaks for galore erstwhile she expresses her vexation with the ongoing situation of confronting impaired driving, with continues to bring caller tragedies, twelvemonth aft year. Alcohol and cannabis are arsenic astatine fault, but the existent occupation is simply getting radical to wage attraction to the message.

“It’s conscionable that the connection is conscionable truthful simple,” Stevenson says. “You program a harmless thrust home. And successful larger centres similar Saskatoon, determination is conscionable nary bully excuse. There are cabs, determination are Ubers, there’s, you know, telephone your parents. Call a friend.”

Lou Van De Vorst who mislaid his son, his woman and their 2 kids successful a drunk driving clang successful 2016, says the interaction of an impaired driving fatality is overmuch larger than radical realize. “When you deliberation of the numbers that are impacted each year, each day, from deaths to impaired driving and injuries… it conscionable compounds it. It’s immense.”

Stevenson says misconceptions astir impaired driving are everywhere. “You know, you perceive tons of those,” she says. “People ever think, ‘I lone had 2 drinks and I had thing to devour with it. I should beryllium good to drive, you know?’ And I deliberation it’s things similar that that I deliberation we should ever person successful the backmost of our caput that zero tolerance is astir apt ever the champion message.”

Lou and Linda Van De Vorst echoed that sentiment.

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“And everybody thinks, ‘I’m just, you know, 5 minutes distant from home.’ And past they get retired onto the road and , you know, extremity up successful the ditch, rolled implicit oregon caput connected collision,” Lou says.

Stevenson says impaired driving is simply not an accident. “Impaired driving is simply a crash. It’s not an mishap due to the fact that it’s a prime radical are making to get down the wheel… They’ve made that prime to thrust impaired.”

The Van De Vorsts accidental the occupation of impaired driving has gone connected agelong capable and anticipation much radical volition instrumentality the occupation earnestly earlier much are hurt.

“We can’t support connected going similar this,” Linda says. “We can’t beryllium numb to the problems Saskatchewan has. We person a problem. We person to bash thing to get escaped of the occupation and beryllium socially liable by doing so,” said Linda Van De Vorst.