Traditionally the focus on impaired driving ramps up during the Christmas and New Year holiday seasons when most people would assume there are more impaired drivers on the road.
It would stand to reason that during a traditional season of partying, including home parties and company parties, there would likely be more impaired drivers on the road. That assumption would appear to be very wrong.
The summer months are actually the time when more impaired drivers are on the road, according to provincial statistics on collisions involving impaired drivers.
It would seem holiday parties in the Christmas season have gotten the message over the years and now seek out alternatives modes of transportation including taxes or ride services.
A number of businesses plan ahead for their annual holiday staff parties and provide alternative methods for getting people home safe after they are done celebrating.
With all this focus on the holiday season, the issue of impaired driving in the summer months seems to be slipping by the public’s attention. Come summer there are far more people on the road ways than in the winter months.
With a couple of long weekends thrown into the mix there ample opportunities for weekenders and those traveling to and from their annual summer vacations to mix too much drinking and relaxing with driving.
According to the province, in Alberta during the five year span from 2004 and 2008 an average of 110 people each year were killed and close to 2,000 injured in collisions where at least one of the drivers had been drinking alcohol prior to the crash.
Most of the collisions resulting in casualties where alcohol was involved actually occur between June and September with the majority coming on long weekend.
Now is the time to focus the public’s attention on this dangerous issue. For years the focus been on holiday party goers getting behind the wheel intoxicated, now the focus needs to shift to summer travelers.
It may never be possible to eliminate all impaired driving but if members of the public are willing to take a stand and report any suspected impaired drivers it will go a long way to ensuring our roadways are safer for everyone.
Over the past five years, on average, the number of people convicted of impaired driving in Alberta has been about 7,600.
The number of actual drivers taking to the road while impaired is obviously much higher and that is where the public attention needs to be.
The police can’t be everywhere at once. The public has to do its part to ensure fewer impaired drivers are on our local roads and highways but stopping friends and family from every getting behind the wheel after drinking and being willing to call police when they suspect someone is driving while impaired.