Despite the efforts of government, law enforcement and other community-based associations, drinking and driving is still having devastating impacts in our communities.
We learned this week that Sunshine Coast RCMP were alerted by several residents of a possible impaired driver on Highway 101 last Thursday. The driver was allegedly swerving on the road, and when officers caught up to the driver and stopped him in Sechelt, it was clear to the investigating officer that the driver was showing obvious signs of impairment. Once the man was in custody, a closer inspection of the vehicle turned up something shocking to the officer - a four-year-old child in the back seat with beer cans strewn beneath her feet.
The Ministry of Children and Families was called in and the child was placed in the home of a friend for the evening, while the man was arrested and held in custody to sober up. He has received a 90-day driving ban and other citations and could be facing more charges of possible impaired driving once RCMP complete their investigation and forward their report to Crown counsel. The man will appear in provincial court later this month, when we'll then hopefully get a clearer picture of just what went on that day. But we're still wondering, what was this man thinking? Poor judgment doesn't even begin to describe this sad situation.
Not only was this man putting his own life at risk, and possibly the lives of others should be have gotten into an accident, he potentially put the life of his child at risk too, which is mind-boggling.
It was just fortunate that several good Samaritans brought the alleged drunk driver to the attention of authorities and a potential accident was avoided.
But that wasn't the case last Saturday on the Sea-to-Sky Highway near Whistler where it is alleged a 19-year-old man from Calgary was impaired by drugs and is being investigated for possible impairment from those drugs in the death of a Vancouver limo driver who was killed in a frightening and horrific crash.
These two incidents, although not connected, do have something in common - alleged impaired driving due to alcohol or drugs involving several people who could have chosen a different path after they consumed those drugs or alcohol, a path that could have seen them choose a safe drive home instead of putting themselves and others at risk by holding on to their keys.
And while the statistics are changing - for the better - as more and more people make the right choices to get home after having a few drinks, these incidents this week show us that more needs to be done.
