The 2023 MADD Prince Albert Smashed Car Campaign kicked off on Thursday. The car can be seen alongside the northbound lanes on Highway 2. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Impaired driving awareness

MADD Prince Albert launches 2023 Smashed Car Campaign

May 18, 2023 | 4:30 PM

Travellers on Highway 2 heading north of Prince Albert may get a slight scare upon seeing what is lying on the side of the road. No, it’s not a bad accident however, it could be for some who drive impaired.

On Thursday, MADD Prince Albert and SGI kicked off their annual Smashed Car Campaign to display a powerful reminder about the risks of impaired driving. The vehicle sits alongside the northbound lanes on Highway 2 near the RCMP depot where Karen Anthony-Burns said that they bring back this campaign because of the success in previous years.

“It’s a great visual,” she said. “It has impact, it makes people stop and think about what could happen. I think when they see that crashed vehicle, it really enforces the fact that when you’re driving impaired this could be the result. We’re just hoping people that people see that, especially on the way to lakes. Summer’s here, we know everyone wants to go out and have a good time and that’s great, but we also want everybody to think about making that smart plan to get home safely.”

Karen Anthony-Burns (middle left) stands alongside members of Beau ‘Lac’ Funeral Home and Prince Albert Police Service at the Smashed Car Campaign site just north of the city. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW staff)

Since the beginning of 2023, the Prince Albert Police Service has arrested 21 impaired drivers within city limits to date. In April alone, there were 10 reports of impaired driving/refusal to provide a breath sample while for the first four months of the year, there were 25 reports compared to 21 for the same time period in 2021.

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With those statistics, Anthony-Burns said the numbers are still too high.

“It’s far too many,” she said. “We need to be zero. When there’s 21, you think about how many people could’ve potentially been injured or killed. I lost my son in 2010 and I’m not the only person in our community who’s suffered a loss so if we can prevent that, let’s do it. It’s an easy thing to do, just make a smart choice.”

Highway 2 won’t be the only place the vehicle can be seen in the city either as Anthony-Burns mentioned the car will spend a month at its current spot before moving to the south end of the city near the tourist information centre, and then again to Highway 55 near 6^th Ave. NE., pending approval of the location.

MADD Chapters across the country have also been seen participating in the Smashed Car Campaign, including Saskatoon and Regina.

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann