Of 5,400 alcohol screenings issued in December 2023, the results of the RCMP and Winnipeg police’s latest Holiday Checkstop Program showed 59 people were handed impaired driving charges, 46 of which were dealt in rural communities.
Tanya Hansen Pratt, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said this could be because people think that since they’re on a rural road, there isn’t much traffic so it’s not dangerous.
“That’s simply not true. I think my family’s case really highlights that that isn’t true. My mom was walking on a rural country road at 7:00 on a Tuesday morning and she was killed by an impaired driver,” she said.
Alternatively, “people might think that there just aren’t as many opportunities to get home safely in a rural area, that there are more opportunities available for them in an urban environment. That’s really just an excuse. There’s always a way to get home safely. People can sleep over, they can plan ahead for a designated driver. There really isn’t any excuse at all for driving impaired.”
If it’s available, rideshares, Uber, taxis and transit could also be good options, she said.
“You have the power to make the right choice, that you can simply choose not to drive impaired.”
She said she’s frustrated to still be repeating this message.
“My mom was killed almost 25 years ago, and I’m still standing here saying the same thing over and over again, begging people to please make the right choice,” Hansen Pratt said.
Even so, she is not shocked by the results of the checkstop program.
“I’m not surprised by the numbers, but I am disappointed by the numbers because it tells us that people are still not getting the message and still making the wrong choices,” she said.
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