Tips on drunk drivers lead to 2,870 criminal charges
Lou and Linda Van de Vorst have felt the impact impaired driving has on Saskatchewan in a deep and personal way.
Their son and daughter-in-law, together with their two grandchildren, ages five and two, were all killed when an impaired driver crashed into their vehicle in 2016.
As the couple worked through grief, Lou said he wondered why some people still considered impaired driving socially acceptable. Since the collision, Lou and Linda have been outspoken on the need to bring down the number of impaired drivers in the province and change people’s mindset on the issue.
On Tuesday, they were at SGI’S headquarters in Regina to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Report Impaired Drivers (RID) program, together with representatives from Mothers Against Drinking and Driving and several police services from across Saskatchewan.
RID’S recognizable yellow and red signs can be spotted along highways and city streets all across the province, encouraging drivers to pull over and call 911 if they see a driver they believe is impaired.
From the program’s launch in 2010 to 2019, RID calls resulted in 2,870 Criminal Code charges and an additional 581 roadside suspensions, along with 1,750 other charges, according to SGI.
Through ongoing public awareness campaigns like RID and increased police enforcement across the province, Lou said he is glad to finally see public thinking shift to view impaired driving as unacceptable.
“You don’t really understand the impact of it until you experience it yourself. I didn’t, but I don’t want anybody else to experience that,” he said. “Nobody needs to go through what my wife and I and my family went through.”
Estevan Police Service Chief Paul Ladouceur said having the public on the lookout for impaired drivers is a huge help to police.
“The public is our best asset. There’s numerous eyes out there that can help the police and we encourage people to make that difference,” he said.
Some people may hesitate to call police because they believe officers will perceive it as an inconvenience or they do not know for certain the driver is impaired, but Ladouceur said police welcome the calls.
“No one is going to get criticized from the police for picking up the phone to call and report a possible impaired driver,” he said, noting that citizens can watch for all the same signs of impaired driving that police can.
“There’s no special magic because we’re police officers that we have superpowers of detecting impaired drivers. What the public generally sees … is the same thing our members see.”
Linda agreed, and said everyone has a responsibility to watch for impaired drivers on the road and also prevent impaired people from getting behind the wheel in the first place.
“You can’t just leave it to the police. They’re doing a great job, but they can’t be everywhere all the time,” she said. “It is our job to care for one another.”
Possible signs of an impaired driver include drifting in and out of lanes, driving too fast or slow or at an inconsistent speed, stopping too soon or too late at a stoplight, and driving with the windows open in cold weather.