The Bay St. George Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers are encouraging the community to be vigilant in reporting impaired driving during the holiday season.
RCMP Const. Sam Munden says impaired driving incidents escalate during the holidays and can affect the entire community.
"It's a problem that affects everybody that share the public roadways and even pedestrians," he says. "Whether you're a clerk at a convenience store - anybody traveling in the general public are encouraged to report what they suspect to be impaired driving."
"It's your responsibility as the public to report it because you never know when it can affect yourself or your family," says local MADD chapter president Florence Higgins.
RCMP have recently stepped up educating youth about the effects of drugs and alcohol, but Const. Munden says there is still much work to be done to educate adults.
"The message does not seem to be getting through to adults because we're seeing an increase in incidents involving impaired driving," he says. "And that's right across the province. The message has been out there for years but it just doesn't seem to be taking."
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Const. Munden says people should also be mindful of taking precautions in hosting parties.
"There is a responsibility involved in planning safe house parties and that is making sure there is plenty of food available, making sure there's a good balance between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks," he says.
"Have a plan in place to make sure people have transportation home or they stay for the night. The thing is, pre-planning is the key and if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
Const. Munden says RCMP will be out in full force during the month of December, leading up to Christmas. They will hold checkpoints at the following locations and will be checking for impaired driving and winter-vehicle safety.
° Dec. 5 and 6, Port au Port East, Route 460 and Stephenville Crossing, Route 490.
° Dec. 12 and 13 at Crossroads intersection (near Piccadilly), Route 460 and Indian Head (near the old mill site), Route 490.
° Dec. 19 and 20 at Barachois Brook near Black Duck and Kippens Road near Island Pond Drive, Route 460.
Times set for all checkpoints will be 7-8 p.m. and 9-10 p.m. on each scheduled night.
The Bay St. George chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers will also be holding checkpoints to educate people on the dangers of impaired driving as well, but dates have not yet been scheduled.
MADD, who must be assisted by RCMP in operating their checkpoints, have run into a 'roadblock' of their own in trying to educate the public on drinking and driving. Recent changes to legislation say the general public must be notified of the date, time and location of any such traffic obstructions.
Ms. Higgins says in the past, some MADD checkpoints have had to be rescheduled due to lower member availability within their group or the RCMP. She says the new rules are stricter and will make simple re-scheduling difficult.
"It ties our hands for a lot of our education purposes," says Ms. Higgins. "It's hard to organize something when you have to give all the details out like that."
Ms. Higgins says once MADD has ironed out its own checkpoint schedule, it will most likely be advertised on local radio.
If you drink, don't drive, no matter how little you think you have had;
Designate a driver before you arrive at an event or party;
If hosting a party, make sure to set rules on drinking and driving. Offer to provide a ride home or a place for guests who drink to sleep;
Wear a red ribbon during the holidays to inrease awareness of the drinking and driving problem;
Educate family, friends and co-workers about the risks of drinking and driving. Provide them with pamphlets or give MADD information and statistics to help bring awareness to the drinking and driving problem;
If possible, avoid driving during the early and late evening hours on holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. Protect yourself and passengers by wearing a safety belt at all times, in case of a crash.
Source: Madd Canada
