Operation Red Nose launches Saskatchewan road safety campaign ahead of holidays

With the Christmas season on the horizon, Operation Red Nose launched its Saskatchewan road safety campaign on Tuesday.

Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Yorkton and the Battlefords are all regions that will be participating in this campaign, from Nov. 24 to Dec. 31.

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Operation Red Nose is a service that returns people home in their own vehicles, with donations going towards local initiatives.

The service was originally created back in 1984, where a team of three volunteers accompany you and make sure you and your vehicle make it home safe.

In Saskatchewan, organizations working in the field include the Prince Albert Lions Club, Saskatoon Millennium Lions Club, KidsSport Battlefords and The Kinsmen Club of Yorkton.

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The non-profit organization encourages responsible behaviour to prevent impaired driving, and also supports youth and amateur sports projects.

Megan Olson, president of the Saskatoon Millennium Lions Club, said there are three different roles for volunteers going to the different calls.

“So we have our escort driver who is going to be driving to the client’s location, and then also following behind the client’s vehicle when they arrive and are going to their next location,” Olson said.

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She said the navigator role will be in the client’s vehicle, helping with any navigation and maybe telling a good Christmas joke.

“And then we have our designated driver, who will drive our client’s vehicle to its next location.”

She said they also have people volunteering as dispatch, adding that it’s a large team that makes it all work.

Olson said they like to have about five teams in Saskatoon working each night so clients aren’t waiting too long, noting that makes up about 15 to 20 people each night.

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On an average busy night in the lead-up to Christmas, she said, they take around 35 calls.

Tom Armstrong is the former club president of the Lion Club in Saskatoon and said in Saskatoon, the programs being supported include the Saskatoon Lions Speed Skating Club and the Ronald McDonald House.

“Our club receives nothing, our members are volunteers, receive nothing other than the satisfaction of making our community a safer place to live.”

People can sign up to book a ride and donate or to volunteer on the Operation Red Nose website, with it noting that a phone app is also available.