If you've had a drink too many, you best not get behind the wheel, Saskatchewan's government is looking to "RID" the province of drunk drivers.
A pilot project has been unveiled in Saskatoon and now Regina and if all goes as planned Saskatchewan roads will become safer places to drive.
The public is being asked to help make streets safer with a road safety program called Report Impaired Drivers (RID).
RID encourages residents to call 911 and report suspected impaired drivers to the police.
"Drinking and driving is the number one contributing factor in fatal collisions in Saskatchewan," Minister responsible for SGI Tim McMillan says. "RID empowers the public to help Regina law enforcement in removing impaired drivers from our roads. It also serves as a warning that there are many eyes on the lookout for anyone driving under the influence."
First piloted in Saskatoon in March 2010, preliminary numbers suggest that Saskatoon law enforcement has had a potential increase of more than 50 per cent in impaired driving charges since the implementation of the RID program.
It may sound like a fairly simple measure, but with the support of RCMP maybe this measure can go a long way towards making streets safer. If the message is clearly sent to drivers that drinking and driving IS unacceptable and you WILL be caught, perhaps people will think twice before grabbing their keys and heading out.
Granted, there isn't any measure that can be taken that will impact everyone, but if we don't make attempts, we won't see any change.
RCMP are recommending that drivers pull over safely to the side of the road before dialing, or have a passenger make the 911 call.
