MADD awareness campaign aims to make people think twice about driving impaired

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Saskatoon is launching a stark visual campaign this summer to combat impaired driving. From June 10 to September 15, a crashed car will be displayed at five different high-visibility locations across the city, serving as a powerful reminder of the preventable dangers of driving under the influence.

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When I see the crash car out there, it right away brings me back to seeing the crashed car in the SGI salvage lot that had our four family members in there.

Linda Van de Vorst, a MADD Saskatoon member who lost her son and his young family to an impaired driver, shared her personal connection to the campaign. Seeing the smashed car, she hopes, will prompt drivers to reflect on the devastating outcomes of their choices. "Hopefully they will be wise enough to understand, impaired driving can kill or injure," she stated.

The campaign comes as statistics show an increase in impaired driving suspensions in Saskatchewan, with an average of 30 deaths annually attributed to impaired driving. Police Chief Cameron McBride noted the alarming frequency of impaired drivers encountered during routine traffic stops, sometimes overwhelming police resources.

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Knowing that that car is out there, people are going to ask, ‘Why is it there?’ ‘What is it doing there?’. Hopefully they will be wise enough to understand, impaired driving can kill or injure.

This initiative also highlights the ongoing pain for families affected by such incidents. A recent roadside memorial was installed for Laura Anne Fearnly Hannah and Jamie Jean Hannah, a mother and daughter killed by an impaired driver. Van de Vorst emphasized the campaign's goal: to instill a sense of responsibility and encourage people to ensure they and their companions do not drive impaired.

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There are times where our police service will do a stop check during the night or evening hours. And quite often, commonly that stop check will involve eight or nine police officers and there are times, still, where we have to stop the stop check because we’ve got so many impaired drivers that we’ve run out of people to do the work.