As holiday celebrations begin, police and advocacy groups in Nova Scotia are reminding the public the dangers of impaired driving after seeing a number of incidents last month.
On Monday, drivers in Halifax's north end found themselves detouring around a collision site where power crews worked to replace a pole. Police say it came down when the driver of a pickup truck slammed into it, prior to bumping into a house.
Remarkably, no one sustained injuries, including the driver, a 42-year-old man who's now got other problems.
“The driver has been charged with impaired-driving-related offences and we continue to investigate that matter,” said Const. John MacLeod of the Halifax Regional Police.
The Nova Scotia RCMP says it dealt with 123 impaired-driving incidents across the province last month alone.
Fifty-nine were alcohol-related, four were impaired by drugs, 10 refused to be tested, and 50 others were pulled off the road for having alcohol in their systems.
In Halifax, regional police recorded 19 incidents in November, with just over half being alcohol-related. Two of those were considered drug-related, one refused, and five others had been suspended.
“The highest risk category is young males 18 to 34. Not limited to them, but that’s the group we see most commonly, and we have to find message and speak to those people,” said Steve Sullivan, CEO of MADD Canada.
Beyond the punishment for offenders, impaired driving costs innocent victims untold pain and heartache every year.
The country’s best known advocacy group minces no words, calling it “a violent crime.”
“The violence in those crashes, the damage done to their loved ones is unspeakable in many ways, so we characterize it as a violent crime,” added Sullivan.
National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day came and went on Dec. 3, but Operation Christmas, the provincewide campaign, will run until well into the new year.
This means drivers can expect to run into a lot of stop checks.
“The best advice we have is not to consume any alcohol or drugs while you’re operating a motor vehicle, and that includes ATVs as well,” said Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay of the Nova Scotia RCMP.
“That’s always our message: Never drive impaired. Never get into a vehicle with someone who is impaired. There’s always choices out there for you,” said Macleod.
