On Friday, Dec. 4, RCMP across nation participated in the seventh annual National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day.
The event, if you can call it that, saw officers conduct hundreds of checkstops targeting drunk and drug-affected drivers.
There’s a good reason they did it now, and not say on May 16, to pick a random date.
It’s the lead up to Christmas and the festive party season is in full swing.
Now, more than ever, many will likely knock back a few at a work Christmas party, or a neighbour’s house, and be tempted to get behind the wheel.
Don’t.
No one, we repeat no one, has any excuse to get the behind the wheel of vehicle after drinking. This is 2015, not 1955 when drinking and driving was a frowned upon, but somewhat socially acceptable practice.
For at least the last four decades the public have been bombarded with the straight forward, but simple message to not drink and drive.
Unfortunately the message doesn’t seem to reach everyone — if you follow our court report there’s always one of two people convicted of drinking and driving within our area on a weekly basis.
Ultimately the most acute, immediate and everlasting affects of the tragic results of drunk driving are felt by its victims — not just the people taken to hospital, or to morgue, it’s their families, friends and loved ones.
After the wrecks are towed away and the RCMP reports files, those people, more than any of us, are left with scars that will often never heal.
We have to ask ourselves, is that the kind of thing we want to do to other people, let alone the ones closest to us?
So please, this holiday season, think seriously about how you’ll use our roads.
Organize a designated driver, catch a taxi, walk, but whatever you do, don’t let the celebration turn into heartache.
