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

It’s a stark reminder for drivers across the city to think twice before driving impaired.

A smashed car on display around Saskatoon this summer, organized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, aims to remind people of the preventable dangers of driving under the influence.

The car will be at five different locations in the city from June 10 to Sept. 15, being moved every three weeks to high visibility locations in the city.

“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,” said Linda Van de Vorst.

Van de Vorst is a mother for MADD who lost her son and his young family in a tragic accident involving an impaired driver.

She says she hopes this campaign will make people think.

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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?’” she said. “Hopefully they will be wise enough to understand, impaired driving can kill or injure.”

In Saskatchewan, MADD says suspensions due to impaired driving are increasing, with an average of 30 people dying from impaired driving per year.

Meanwhile, Police Chief Cameron McBride says they are seeing too many incidents on the road.

“There are times where our police service will do a stop check during the night or evening hours,” McBride said. “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.”

And it never gets easier for the families.

On June 5, a roadside memorial was installed outside of Dundurn to remember Laura Anne Fearnly Hannah and Jamie Jean Hannah, a mother and daughter who were killed by an oncoming impaired driver.

Van de Vorst says she hopes this campaign will bring back a feeling of responsibility for drivers.

“A crash car means there’s an injury involved or a death and with that take responsibility to say, ‘I’m not going to drink and drive’ and ‘I want to ensure that my family knows the same thing,’ or, ‘if I’m out going out with somebody, a group of people, I want to make sure that the people that are there who are drinking and driving don’t get behind that wheel.’”

Watch the video above for more on the visual reminder to plan a ride home.

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