ATHABASCA – Picture the scene — a bloody and broken body lies in the grass in front of a rolled-over SUV. A teenager screams for help when her friends walk up. The driver, a friend from school, stumbles around the back, insisting everything is okay before the cops arrive. Later, two police officers stand on a porch, telling a family that their child won’t be coming home tonight.
On Oct. 30, Grade 12 students at Edwin Parr Composite School (EPC) didn’t need to use their imaginations. Thanks to help from the high school drama students as well as members of the Athabasca RCMP, Athabasca and Colinton Fire and local paramedics, students got to watch what a fatal accident looks like, complete with lights, sirens, a breathalyzer, and metal bracelets for the driver.
“I wanted to give these students a good message into the reality of what we deal with on a daily basis,” said Const. Jordan Lewis, a first-year officer at the detachment who put the Oct. 30 demonstration together for the students.
“I hope in the future, they make the right decisions. Arrange to have a ride, call a cab, and look out for each other and their friends. Make sure to think of their family, friends, and the general public. It’s not worth it.”
According to data collected by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), an average of nine federal criminal charges and provincial short-term licence suspensions are laid for drug- and alcohol-impaired driving are laid every hour.
In Alberta, 7,730 charges were laid and 4,429 suspensions were issued in 2021, a drastic increase over 2020, which had 5,634 charges and 2,787 suspensions.
“A lot of our staff would say the messaging to the kids is, ‘Who is your safe ride home?’” said Brenna Kowalchuk, a principal at EPC.
“Whether it’s a parent, a friend, or a designated driver, who’s the person you could call no questions asked, so you’re not going to be worried about getting into trouble if you’re impaired in some capacity?”
Representing MADD was Dave Hall, a former RMCP collision reconstruction specialist and a former provincial Crown prosecutor. He spoke with students about the risks, consequences, and shared some stories from his time on the road.
Hall stressed the importance of using the right language when it comes to driving impaired. Often, people refer to incidents related to impaired driving as accidents, a phrase Hall detests.
“If you’re walking down the road and a piece of ice falls of a building and lands on your head, that’s an accident. If it’s preventable, it’s not an accident.”
