‘HITS HOME EVERY TIME’
SGI campaign makes emotional appeal to keep impaired drivers off the roads
P.A. police Sgt. Troy Dumont gets A hug At the launch of SGI’S new Campaign Against impaired driving in Regina on Monday. ‘Knock on the Door’ makes An emotional Appeal to keep drunk drivers off the roads. Saskatoon’s Bonny And Craig Stevenson, who lost A son to An impaired driver, hope the Ads ‘save A family from this horrific nightmare.’
As Saskatchewan continues to grapple with high levels of drinking and driving, an ad campaign aimed at making roads safer is being launched.
Saskatchewan Government Insurance’s new campaign “Knock on the Door” is meant to make people think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking.
One television advertisement is a straightforward commercial, featuring a family enjoying dinner and getting ready for bed while waiting for mom to get home; but instead, police officers knock on the door. The other advertisements feature 12 different first responders from across the province sharing their experiences of dealing with drinking and driving.
Sgt. Troy Dumont of the Prince Albert Police Service is one of those featured in those ads.
He says five years ago there was a call that really hit home for him, prompting him to try to make a difference across the province.
It wasn’t the first time Dumont had to inform family members of a loved one’s death, but one he will always remember.
“You don’t know what to say, you don’t know how people are going to react, and you just have to just feel what they’re feeling,” he said. “It’s a tough spot every time, it hits home every time. It never gets easy. It is one of the worst things of the job.”
First responders have to prepare for seeing the worst of the worst, he added, but “some things never go away.”
“You have doubt, some regrets maybe. You wish you could change something you said or something you didn’t say, because you know that you just changed somebody’s life forever.”
Dumont told reporters about one time having a junior officer with him in making one of those difficult door knocks.
“I remember walking up to the door and I just said ‘You don’t have to say anything, just watch what I do,’” he said, “He looked at me and he said ‘I hope they’re not home.’”
In August 2013, Bonny and Craig Stevenson were told their 17-yearold son Quinn had been killed by a drunk driver in Saskatoon.
The two have become advocates since their son died, and encouraged people to always have a plan to get home safe.
“You will save a family from this horrific nightmare that we’ve lived every day since,” Bonny said.
There were 39 impaired drivingrelated deaths on Saskatchewan roads last year.
Earlier this month, tougher laws for impaired driving came into force, including a zero tolerance for drug impairment.
Longer vehicle seizures and licence suspension periods for impaired drivers with passengers under the age of 16 in the vehicle were also put in place.