The weekly report provided by the Weyburn Police Service makes it painfully and obviously clear that public education about impaired driving needs to continue, and the efforts to inform the public cannot relent in any way. It is also clear that some people can only learn the hard way, and that way is to be pulled over by the police and arrested for driving drunk, including the impoundment of their vehicle and a loss of driving privileges.
Recently, on two separate occasions a Weyburn driver has been involved in a collision causing the death or deaths of other motorists, and the drivers were charged with a list of offences, including impaired driving causing death.
Most people would think that instances of drivers who were drunk and being involved in accidents where innocent lives are taken might wake up those who think they can make the run home from the bar or from a party — but no. Every week since those tragic and awful incidents, there have been drivers in Weyburn stopped and charged with impaired driving.
In 2015, the most recent year statistics are available from SGI, there were 1,165 collisions where alcohol was a contributing factor, resulting in 565 injuries, and 54 people died. That’s 54 people whose lives were taken from them, and whose loved ones are grieving their loss as they will never love, or work, or experience happiness or share special moments ever again.
This is quite a steep price to pay just so someone could have some drinks and act like it just doesn’t matter if they are drunk. Likely some of these drivers felt they weren’t really that drunk and could drive home just fine. The result was death for 54 people, and a range of injuries to 565 people, some of them serious.
Besides the two fatal collisions involving Weyburn drivers, there have been some very tragic, awful stories from other accidents, such as an entire family of four being killed by a woman who was drunk.
The trouble is, what more needs to be said before people will take stock and decide not to drive after having drinks? Anything and everything that can be said has been said, in addition to which the laws cracking down on drunk drivers have been made even tougher this year.
It’s a good thing the laws are tougher and stricter, but has that stopped people from getting behind the wheel after a few beers or shots? Eventually it will when a police officer has them pulled over and demands a breath sample, and the driver takes the ride in the police vehicle and hears the steel door close behind them. — Greg Nikkel
