In the News

Vigil for victims of drunk drivers
By Chelsey Romain
The Daily Press
November 17, 2009

Think about how many people you see on a daily basis. Picture the dozens of people seen at work, the grocery store or the local cinema.

Now imagine that every day four of those people disappeared never to be seen again. Another 200-plus are now walking around injured.

Those are the numbers associated with impaired driving, and why groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are so determined to stop people from consuming alcohol and getting behind the wheel.

The Timmins chapter of MADD is getting ready to join thousands across the country to kick off this year's annual Red Ribbon Project, aimed at bringing awareness to the problem of impaired driving.

Throughout the next month and a half or so, MADD volunteers and police officers will provide motorists with the red ribbons during RIDE stops.

"Drivers are encouraged to attach the ribbons to their vehicles, key chains or even their purses," said MADD volunteer and Timmins Police Service Const. Tony Chilton, adding that millions of ribbons will be distributed this year. "It shows you, as a person, are committing to drive sober.

"It's also a sign of respect to the thousands of Canadians who have lost their lives to impaired driving."

On Sunday, at Cedar Meadows, the Red Ribbon Project will be launched, in addition to a victims' vigil, allowing the friends and family members to remembers those lost, but never forgotten.

"It's a candlelight vigil," said Chilton. "Photos are put up and families can share stories and poems about their loved ones."

In Timmins alone, many families have had to deal with the loss of a loved one at the hands of an impaired driver — often these victims were young with full life ahead of them.

In 2001, 20-year-old Justin Lambert-Belanger and seven of his cross-country running teammates from the University of Wyoming were killed, as they returned from a meet. The driver, impaired and charged with vehicular homicide, crossed the centre lane causing his pickup truck to collide head-on with the vehicle the team was travelling in.

Also see...

Project Red Ribbon campaign