A sign marks the location where an impaired driver was recently apprehended on the 600 Block of 7th Street E. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Drunk driving

New signs mark P.A. locations where impaired drivers have been apprehended

Sep 1, 2020 | 5:36 PM

The organizers who set up a new series of mobile road-side signs hope they will serve as visual reminders of the consequences of impaired driving and the public’s role in stopping it.

The placards, unveiled Tuesday, mark places in Prince Albert where impaired drivers have been apprehended and criminally charged. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Prince Albert Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) and Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI).

Speaking to the media after an event to mark the launch of the signs on Tuesday, Karen Anthony-Burns with MADD Prince Albert, explained the goal of the project has two aspects. She hopes the signs encourage the public to call 9-1-1 if they suspect someone is driving impaired, while also acting as a deterrent to anyone tempted to get behind the wheel under the influence.

“The police are out there. People are watching,” she said. “And if you think you can just go from point A to point B and you’ve had drinks, well no, no you can’t.”

Karen Anthony-Burns speaks at the launch of the mobile signs Tuesday at City Hall. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

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Anthony-Burns lost her youngest son after he was struck by a driver in alcohol-related crash nearly 10 years ago. She told the small crowd that gathered at the event on Tuesday “that pain never goes away,” but she’s found healing through her involvement with MADD.

Earlier Tuesday morning she and her husband placed signs at four locations around the city. They’ll be moved every two weeks based on information on new charges from police.

PAPS Chief Jon Bergen. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Impaired driving decreasing, but much work left to do

While impaired driving numbers are trending down in Prince Albert (and across Saskatchewan), the crime is still far too common and entirely preventable, PAPS Chief Jon Bergen said. In 2019, PAPS noted 127 investigations involving impaired driving, compared to 155 in 2018 and 191 in 2017.

“If you see impaired driving, we ask that you report it to the police immediately,” he said.

Bergen also underlined the emotional toll of drunk driving. Difficult, he said, did not begin to describe the task of having to inform family members their loved one had been killed or injured by an impaired driver.

“It is a duty that has such a profound effect on our officers that one will never forget it,” he said. “And I too have too many of these memories.”

Prince Albert Carlton MLA and minister responsible for SGI, Joe Hargrave, similarly spoke about the province’s success in curbing rates of drunk driving while emphasizing the need to do much more. He applauded MADD for its work.

“This mobile sign program will remind people in Prince Albert that enforcement of impaired driving is strong and it can happen anywhere even in quiet residential areas,” he said.

Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne speaks while MLA Joe Hargrave looks on. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Call for tougher penalties

Meanwhile Mayor Greg Dionne took a different approach calling for harsher sentences for impaired drivers.

“We’ve had impaired drivers not even go to the penitentiary, go to halfway houses and healing lodges,” he said. “That’s not right. If you want someone to stop something you have to have a deterrent and deterrence starts with our [court] system.”

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom