The Saskatoon chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) says its Report Impaired Drivers (RID) signs keep getting stolen.
The program began has been going on since July 2020 with the signs showing where drunk or high drivers have been criminally charged and encouraging the public to call 911 if they suspect an impaired driver.
“What we do in Saskatoon is twice a month I get a list of locations where criminally charged impaired drivers were caught and charged and we put up a sign in those locations identifying them,” MADD Saskatoon president Bonny Stevenson said.
“It’s fairly impactful. And I think what it really shows because we also post the time of day. So not only do these impairments happen in every corner of the city, there’s no specifications east or west. It doesn’t matter … It doesn’t matter what time of day either.
“Impaired drivers are out there all the time.”
Stevenson said since day one, the signs have been missing.
“It varies but, honestly, if we put up 10, we’re lucky to recover five. So we put them up and then when we get the new set of locations, we go out and pick the old ones up and put the new ones up. So you would think they’d all be there within a two-week period, but not the case,” she said.
“It’s so incredibly frustrating. I mean, it’s not a simple project. I mean, it takes a couple hours to go around and put them up and I think they’re just such a great reminder.”
Stevenson, whose son was killed by a drunk driver in Saskatoon, said she doesn’t know why anyone would take the signs.
“I just can’t for the life of me figure out who in the world is taking them and why?” she said.
“We’re pretty strategic where we put them … I’ve also gotten very cautious. If an impaired charge was outside a nightclub, a restaurant or something, we’re not certainly putting it on their front lawn. So we try to pull it out. It doesn’t necessarily have to be at that exact location.
“I have, I think I’ve lost sleep already wondering why in the world are people taking these signs, but I don’t have an answer.”
The minister responsible for Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), Don Morgan, said the fight against impaired driving in the province is an important one.
“Saskatchewan has historically had some of the worst safety records in Canada and we think that’s absolutely unacceptable to have high numbers,” he said.
“Going back to 2009, we’ve had 1,590 collisions involving impaired drivers and 889 injuries and 65 deaths. In 2020, which is the most recent full year, the number of collisions was down to 717, injuries down to 386 and fatalities down to 36.”