In the News

Mothers get MADD
My Town Crier.ca
By Karolyn Coorsh
December 4, 2009

On a frigid November night along a desolate stretch of road near Don Mills and Eglinton dozens of cops are stopping drivers for an impaired driving spot check.

Among the police cars and uniformed officers are Carolyn Swinson and Marlene Stephens, volunteers with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

They don’t care that it’s cold out, or that it’s late in the evening.

They have a message to spread: If you drink, don’t drive.

But it’s their personal stories that hopefully drive that message home.

Swinson has experienced more tragedy in 12 years than most see in their lifetime.

In 1981, her father Scott was killed in England when he was involved in a collision with an impaired driver.

Almost 12 years later to the day, Swinson’s son Rob, 27, was killed when a drunk driver hit his car on Markham Road while he was out buying a Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend. The 32-year-old driver who hit him had a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit, Swinson said.

“The first time I’d actually heard about MADD was when we were sitting in the funeral home and just deciding that we wanted donations to be sent to something that would make a difference,” Swinson said.

As part of her work with MADD, the Etobicoke grandmother also speaks to youth about impaired driving.

“I’m not judgmental with them, I just tell them what’s happened and just say, ‘I don’t think their parents would want to trade places with me’,” she said.

For her part, Stephens attends every RIDE check in Toronto.

In July 1992, the midtown resident’s husband Paul was returning home from a company function when a drunk driver hit him on the 404 near Sheppard Avenue. He died at the scene.

“I was at home, my two daughters were at home and it was the OPP who came to the door,” she recalled.

There’s no excuses when it comes to impaired driving, Stephens said.

“It can happen to any family and people have a choice, and they have a responsibility,” she said. “They’re not accidents because people choose to drink and drive. They know when they’re going to start drinking.”

The pain caused by an impaired driver is immeasurable, says Traffic Sergeant Jack West.

“I talk to these fellas or females from time to time and when they sober up, they are actually devastated,” he said. “They’ve realized now they’ve killed somebody and they themselves have to live with that the rest of their life.”

The Nov. 27 spot check was a complement to the RIDE kick-off that occurred days earlier. For this event, police from 53 and 54 Division teamed up with RCMP, Crime Stoppers and MADD.

“We have to still deliver a strong message to educate the public,” West said. “There’s about 2,500 to 3,000 people killed across Canada each year by an impaired driver so we still have a lot of work to do.”

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