With the May long weekend on the horizon, police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are urging people not to drive while impaired.
“Everyone can plan ahead for a safe and sober ride home,” said Bonny Stevenson, MADD Saskatoon president. “Everyone can make the responsible choice.”
There will be police check stops throughout the weekend, she said.
MADD is expanding an awareness campaign to Corman Park, the rural municipality that surrounds Saskatoon, putting signs in locations where impaired drivers have been charged.
“When people see that sign and they see it’s at their street corner … we hear that impact,” Stevenson said.
“People are shocked that at 10 in the morning, there was an impaired driver.”
Sgt. Sheldon Hamm said Corman Park police are on patrol 24/7, watching for impaired drivers. Since Jan. 1, they’ve charged 51 people with impaired driving, he said.
The “Impaired driver caught here” signs are already in use in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Estevan.
Since last July, MADD volunteers have marked 200 locations in Saskatoon, with roughly 15 signs up at a time, Stevenson said.
“We’re shocked at how many signs we continue to place every two weeks,” she said.
Stevenson’s 17-year-old son, Quinn, was killed by a drunk driver. Quinn was on his way to work in the early hours of Aug. 3, 2013, when he was struck by a vehicle on College Drive.
The “beautiful young man” had just graduated high school, Stevenson said.
“It’s now my job to keep reminding people that Quinn was killed at the hands of an impaired driver and it should not have happened,” she said.
She’s urging people to call 911 if they suspect an impaired driver.