Call 911 to report drunk drivers
By Joseph May
Corner Brook Western Star
June 17, 2008

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD Canada) is looking to spread the word that Canadians everywhere can help make our streets safe.

Prior to the Victoria Day weekend, MADD Canada, in partnership with the RCMP and RNC, launched Campaign 911, an initiative that encourages the public to report suspected impaired drivers.

“Calling 911 is an effective way Canadians can help the police in getting impaired drivers off the road before any harm is done,” said Margaret Miller, MADD Canada’s national president. “We urge Canadians to take the important step of making that call. By removing more impaired drivers from the road, we will see reductions in impaired driving crashes, deaths and injuries.”

More than 100 MADD Canada chapters across the country are taking part in the Campaign 911 initiative and there seems to be a measure of success. Since the program was introduced in Ontario, there have been 85 calls made to police about suspected impaired drivers, leading to 83 arrests. According to Glen Grouchy, president of the MADD Corner Brook chapter, the program has proven to work.

Grouchy says there are some calls made to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in Corner Brook reporting impaired drivers, but not enough to get all of these people off the street. Impaired driving is the number one cause of criminal death in Canada, but the disturbing part is, every impaired driving crash is preventable.

According to Grouchy, the chances of getting caught driving while under the influence of alcohol is the disturbing part.

“Basically, it averages out so that if you go out drinking and driving 485 times, you’ll get caught once,” Grouchy said. “With this initiative we plan to make it so if you drink and drive once, we’re going to get you once.”

MADD Canada has also worked very close with police on other safety issues revolving around the campaign. They both stress that people should keep safety in mind when making the 911 call.

“The safety of motorists is a key consideration, please pull over to use your cellphone (when reporting the impaired driver) and do not try to apprehend the suspected impaired drivers yourself,” Miller said.

Grouchy explained that if you suspect anyone is driving impaired you simply call the police and let them know the whereabouts and type of vehicle suspected. The police will be there in minutes.

For more information log onto www.madd.ca.

Also see...

MADD Canada's Campaign 911